A wish granted
by MGO
Summary: After the battle for Hogwarts Ginny runs away from the pain and the horrors. She doesn't stop and doesn't look back until she stumbles into a unfamiliar place. Follow her as she tries to deal with her past and make choices for the future. Live with her as she meets people in this new world and fights for their friendship. Follows movie script, Legolas/Ginny romance
1. Chapter 1

This is my other new story. I love LoTR/HP crossovers and I love Ginny so what else to do than to write about her in Middle Earth. Let me know if this is good enough to continue. I'll post the first and second chapter today.

Please review!

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**1. The world grumbles**

She stumbled around, her wild dark brown eyes jumping from dead body to dead body. She whimpered as she recognized her best friend amongst the dead. Hermione's wild curls clung to her bloodied face, her dead eyes staring into nothing. Her breathing stopped and painful spasms ran through her body as she looked down at Hermione's mangled body.

Two steps further she found a tuff of red hair and a wail escaped her. She grumbled to her knees next to her brother. He was dead too. His shirt had been torn and the large deep cuts exposed more than she ever wished to see. The cuts had long stopped bleeding, dried blood covered the ground around his body.

Tears fell from her onto her brother's face. It didn't make things better but she couldn't help it. The tears just kept coming but they didn't release the pain. After crying for what felt like a life time she looked around. To her horror she noticed more red hair around her, the twins, her father.

She felt sick, her stomach was heaving but there was no food that could come out. The scene around her made her feel like she was living her worst nightmare. Dead, tortured people every where she could see. She started to recognize even more faces.

Suddenly the need to run from this bloody scene became overwhelming, she had to find her mother, Bill maybe, or if all failed, Luna, at least somebody to hold onto as her world collapsed. She needed somebody to tell her it was a nightmare, to wake her up.

She knew Harry was dead, as she stumbled towards the forest she remembered his last moments, he died together with Voldemort. In a big blast of magical power they both found death, freeing the world from the Dark Lord. Somehow she had known it would end like that, deep in her heart she had somehow expected that he wouldn't return to her but she never expected it would hurt so much.

In de midst of the Hogwarts grounds she let out a feral scream to release some of that pain.

An other set of red haired dead bodies appeared at the edge of the forest.

"No!" she gasped and ran towards the unmoving body of her mother. "No!" she wailed loudly.

Next to her mother lay Fleur and besides the part Veela, Bill. "No, oh Merlin no. please!" she whimpered. She crawled over to Bill, shaking his shoulder, she never noticed the large gash across his stomach. "Bill, please wake up, please Bill, don't leave me alone. Please, please, please. You can't be dead."

Her body shook violently against the pain as it ripped through her body. Her family dead, the man she loved dead, her best friend also dead. She was alone, alone with her pain. It felt like her body was being ripped apart but still able to breath and live.

"No!" she screamed loudly. The pain and anger released a unintended blow of magic around her, pulsating until it left her exhausted.

"Ginny?" a soft voice said behind her. She looked up to see McGonagall looking at her with compassion, maybe even pity. Even the strict teacher had her eyes red with tears. It made it all so final, so definite. Pain ripped through her again, she wanted her family back. She skidded backward as McGonagall tried to step closer.

"It's over, Ginny." McGonagall said softly, "No one is going to hurt you again."

She shook her head, completely dazed by the pain, McGonagall's words never really reached her. She felt trapped by her loss and pain, trapped by the darkness that was surrounding her. She wanted to get away from it all, she want, no needed, to be released from the pain.

The need to get away from the pain grew but Death wasn't there to give her that sweet release. It was hurting too much, ripping her to pieces. She scrambled to her feet, tried to utter an apology and she ran away. Into the forbidden forest.

She ran, it felt like hours but she ran, tear streaking down her face. Her breath hitched constantly and her body ached from all the wounds it had sustained during that final battle but she ran, away from the pain.

With every step she wished she could get away from it all, away from the world that had fallen into pieces around her, away from the cold and pain. She wished she could be in a happy place again. A place where she had people left that cared about her, a place that could comfort her but just away from this painful place was enough for now. All she cou;d think about was that she wanted to escape and in her mind the only true escape was death. She would be back with her family than.

She ran until she couldn't run any further, there was a stabbing pain in her stomach, the cuts and bruises on her body really hurt a lot and she was tired, so damn tired. An up sticking root of one of the abnormally large trees made her stumble. She was too tired to even stop her fall. With a groan she hit the forest floor and stayed there.

She didn't want to get up, there was no reason to get up, every reason for doing something had been taken away from her. Nobody would be waiting for her return, nobody would care if she stayed on the forest floor or not. There was nobody left to worry about her injuries, nobody left to love her and care about her. She just wanted to stay there and die. That way at least she could be with her family and with Harry.

Somewhere in time, long after she fell, exhaustion took her. Never noticing that somebody was watching her.


	2. 2 Setting it out

This is Ginny's introduction with Middle Earth. Pieces will be set on the chess board, things will be set in motion and Ginny has to learn how to deal with it all

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**2. Setting it out**

When the sunlight started to flitter through the trees her watcher decided to quench his curiosity about this strange red haired girl. He had noticed her running through the forest, he had followed her, with the soft fall of her footsteps he had thought it would be one of his companions he was waiting for but he was shocked to find out it was a young woman. She ran fast, as if she had been running from a foe.

Once she stumbled onto the forest floor he heard her crying. It was soft and heartbreaking but wasn't sure if he should comfort her. He circled softly around her, inspecting the young woman to establish if she was dangerous to him.

She wasn't dressed like people in his world, in her hand she held a small wooden stick but besides that she did not carry any weapons. The wooden stick must have been important because she never let it go, not even when she fell. He was wise enough not to underestimate the wooden stick, anything could be used as a weapon.

More worrisome was that he felt power pulsating from her, some form of magic and it was strong, perhaps a bit wild but much stronger than his own magic. It made him unsure if she was safe to approach.

As said eventually his curiosity got the better of him and moved closer to the red head. She was covered in blood, cuts and bruises. She wasn't much more than seventeen summers old. She was dressed in what could be compared to elf breeches but the fabric was different from anything he had ever seen before.

He turned her to her back to inspect her for major wounds but didn't find any. Every bruise and cut had been superficial and not life threatening.

"Wake up, milady." He said softly. Carefully he shook her shoulder, it made her groan. "Wake up, the sun is up already."

Ginny groaned, consciousness slowly returned, her body ached all over. She was laying on something cold, a floor of some sort. She faintly remembered falling down in the forbidden forest. She couldn't care less. She didn't want to move ever again. She hoped that at some point a stray Death Eater would find her and kill. Annoyingly, a soft sunlight burned in her eyes, she raised her hand to shield her face from the sun.

"Welcome to the world of the living." Somebody said next to her. She tensed, her body protested, her hand tightened around her wand. It didn't sound like a Death Eater but she could only hope.

"Please, just do it." She whispered.

"Do what?"

"Just kill me and be done with it. Please."

"Why would I want to kill you, milady?"

She opened her eyes, squinted against the sunlight. Leaning on a white staff, an old man with white robes and snow white hair and beard looked down at her with concern. No, definitely not a Death Eater.

Maybe she was just dreaming about a Dumbledore like figure calling her to her family.

"Are you in pain?" the old man asked.

She refused to answer, who cared that she was hurting all over. Who cared that she felt like her body and soul had been ripped to pieces, who cared that just being was hurting her so much. Nobody, because that was nobody left. It was just her.

"Let me heal your wounds."

The man sounded calm and not faced by her silence at all. She felt a hand on her forehead and the old man whispered unfamiliar words. A pleasant warmth spread through her body, she felt her skin itching and her breathing became more relaxed. Like with a healing charm, her body was slowly healed, though her heart wouldn't.

"There that is much better." The old man mused. With a jolt of surprise Ginny felt herself being lifted into the air. Her eyes flashed open suddenly she found herself in the arms of the old man. With surprising strength he carried her..

"Who are you?" she demanded but he didn't answer immediately. He carefully placed her on a soft spot of moss against a tree.

"I'm know as Gandalf the Grey, or Mithrandir if we go by the elfin name that is given to me. I'm the white wizard." He said as he sat down next to her.

"I never heard of a white wizard." She said slightly confused, though her voice only betrayed aggression. "Nor have I heard of a wizard named Gandalf." The wizard didn't seem to react to the venom in her voice. He just looked at her with a soft smile.

"Perhaps not." He mused. "May I know your name, young lady?"

"I'm Ginevra… Ginny will do." She muttered. Her soul fluttered in pain, she wasn't even able to say her family name out loud. She had no family left, there was no use for that name any longer. A tear escaped her eyes as she thought of her family. The images of their dead bodies, covered in blood, still burned holes in her soul and heart.

She felt the eyes of the old wizard on her, she hated to look weak and she fought the tears away. Trying not to look at the wizard because she was afraid that he would see right through her, she looked around her.

It was only then that she noticed that this forest didn't look much like the forbidden forest. It wasn't as dark, though the air was just as heavy and tense, the trees didn't look as scary and there were no sounds of any magical inhabitants. When she looked closer she noticed that her surroundings were very unfamiliar. She wondered if she even was still in the forbidden forest. If she was, it wasn't any part she had ever seen or heard off.

Looking around again she concluded it was a forest. Large trees was all she could see, the canopy filtered the sunlight to a soft green haze.

_Perhaps I apparated somewhere without knowing_, she mused.

"Where am I?" she asked the old wizard next to her.

"You are in Fangorn forest." Gandalf said.

"I have never heard of Fangorn forest before?"

"It is the old forest on the border of Rohan?"

"What is Rohan?"

The wizard raised his eyes brows in question. Ginny could clearly read the confusion in them.

"One of the kingdoms of Middle Earth. It's the home of the horse lords." He said slowly.

"Middle Earth?" Ginny asked. Gandalf nodded. It was now her turn to be confused, slowly she shook her head in confusion. She knew Earth, the Earth! The only place humans, magical or muggle lived. She was surely dreaming.

"Where are you from?" Gandalf asked her.

"From Ottery St. Catchpole." Ginny whispered. Her home had been there. The Burrow had been burned down shortly after Christmas, it didn't exist anymore. Ashes, nothing more was left. Besides no place would be home without her family.

"I have never heard of a place like that before." Gandalf mused.

"It's a small place in England." Her voice grew softly and sadder. She didn't want to think about home, about her family, dead family, she didn't want to remember England, she didn't know where she was now but if the fates hated her and let her live, than she would never return to that place, nor to Hogwarts. She just couldn't.

They sat in silence for a long time, both witch and wizard lost in thought. The silence didn't help against the pain and Ginny struggled to keep herself from breaking into pieces. She fought hard to lock the pain away.

She realized that she was alone now, besides this strange old man, she had nobody. All those she had known and cared about had been killed in the battle. Now, there was nobody for her to lent a shoulder to cry on, to tell her everything would be alright. The sad thing was nothing would ever be alright again.

Her life had been changed dramatically over night. One moment she had stood side by side with her family and friends, the next they were dying around her. Leaving her alone. It hurt knowing she was alone. That wasn't how it was supposed to go. Harry would end the war, he would be victorious and they would live happily ever after. Though she knew that fairytales would never be more than fairytales but she had wanted that future, badly. Now it was lost.

She felt her eyes tingling and tears started to form at the rims. To distract herself from the darkness that loomed in her mind she thought over her present situation, according to the old man she was in Fangorn Forest. She had never heard of it before, neither had she heard of Middle Earth before.

She knew that many wizards had theories about the possibility that there were other dimensions, other worlds, next to the one they lived in. Even muggles had theories like that but non of those theories had ever been proved nor taken very seriously. Still, maybe she had landed herself in an other dimension, an other world. It would be the most logic explanation.

Her mother always told her to be careful what you wish for and she had wished, constantly for an escape as she had run. She remembered wishing for peace and a relieve from the pain but that wasn't given to her, instead she had ended up in a strange world with an even stranger companion. At least he was a wizard.

Suddenly her stomach growled. Though her body was hungry she knew she couldn't eat. She felt no desire to eat, the thought alone made her sick. Her stomach was full of hurt and anxiety.

"Are you hungry?" the old man asked.

"No." Ginny sighed.

The old man looked at her, almost through her and nodded. Ginny suspected he knew more than he let on. She had seen that look in Dumbledore's eyes too many times. She wondered what he knew.

Did he know where she came from? Did he know why she ended up in this strange place? What did he know about her?

"I'm not from here." She mused.

"No." Gandalf nodded, "You wear strange clothing, that alone is enough to prove that and I have never heard of England before. Which if it had been in Middle Earth I should have known as I travelled around for too many years."

"Do you know how and why I got here?" she pressed.

Gandalf shrugged and looked up at her. "I'm not sure, certain things happen for a reason that will only be shown later. Perhaps the Valar had use for you?"

"Use?" Ginny asked, the idea of being used irked her.

"War is coming to Middle Earth, milady. Sauron will strike soon. This war will change the course of Middle Earth, humans will be enslaved or used for food, women will be raped and murdered. Once Sauron wins his war, darkness will take Middle Earth." Gandalf sounded sad and Ginny couldn't help but groan. "Yet there is always speck of hope and we must hold on to that. You are a witch, I can feel it flowing from you, your powers are greater than mine, perhaps the Valar send you here to help us."

Ginny closed her eyes and shook her head, she had just fought a war, she had seen her friends and family die, all she wanted to do was die and join them, not fight an other war. This would be a war in a world she didn't know, with people she had never seen before nor really cared for.

Remembering the second blood war she could only see mangled bodies, dead people, blood, hatred and anger. Even if it was decided that she should live and not to join her friends and family in death, even than she didn't want to go through a war again.

"I can't go through that again." She whispered, a tear escaped.

"Again?" Gandalf asked. "Your wounds…" he mused.

It was silent for a while, Ginny felt his eyes run over her face, arms and hands. She knew he was looking at her cuts and bruises, at the blood that was sticking to her hands and clothes. She remembered that it wasn't her own blood on her hands.

For a while she waited in fear until he would ask questions she never wanted to answer, she couldn't talk about what had happened just a day ago.

"I understand, Lady Ginevra," He spoke softly. His eyes didn't show any pity, just understanding. "I really do but I'm afraid you will be sucked into it anyway. You see, you are in Middle Earth now, it would do no good to speculate how or why that happened, things are as they are now." Gandalf said calmly. "Middle Earth stands on the brink of destruction and you landed in the middle of it. I know it seems unfair, it is unfair and if I could, I would keep you safe but I don't think I can." He said with I sigh. "There is no place safe anymore."

He looked at her again, their eyes met and he smiled softly.

"I can see in your eyes that you have seen too much horror already. They hold a deeper pain." Ginny closed them for a second. She had been right, this wizard saw right through her. "It would be my wish to keep you away from the war that is coming but I don't know how. Every corner of Middle Earth is invested with enemies. Even this forest isn't really safe, I can't send you somewhere without risking your life. As soon as the enemy knows about you and your power they will hunt you, enslave you, torture you."

Ginny looked up at the man sitting next to her. Her eyes wide in horror.

"You mean to say that I don't have a choice. You say I have to fight again?"

"I don't know yet, my child. All will be revealed with time. I think it's best you stay with me for now, soon my companions will join us and we will travel to Edoras. We are needed in Edoras. Maybe we will find a solution for you there or while we travel."

To Ginny, Gandalf didn't sound hopeful about that solution. She trusted him to speak the truth but the truth wasn't what she wanted to hear. An other war… an other period of fear, anger, blood and death. Maybe she could look forward to it, it was the perfect chance to get herself killed and be with Harry and her family again but somehow she couldn't. Her whole being flinched away from the thought of facing an other battle.

"These companions? Who are they, why aren't you with them?" Ginny asked after a while. She had enough of these unanswered thoughts running freely through her mind and needed distraction.

"We got… separated." Gandalf answered carefully. Like he wasn't sure how to proceed. "We got separated in the mines of Moria. They think I died while fighting a Balrog. I fell, through fire and water. I fought the Balrog and killed him but the battle had taken it's toll on me, in the end I did die. My soul wandered aimlessly, not really finding rest until I was send back by the Valar to finish my task."

"Insane." She muttered, returning from the dead. Impossible. Gandalf chuckled at her soft comment. "How do you know they will meet you here? I mean if you are supposed to be dead to them."

"I can't really explain. During the time my soul wandered I was gifted with a lot of knowledge. I just know that they are traveling this way and we will meet each other again soon, somewhere here in the forest." Gandalf said.

"What's a Balrog?" Ginny asked as she found an other hole in this strange story.

"A Balrog is a demon from the ancient world. A creature made of shadow and flame."

This Middle Earth started to sound more and more like a strange place. Not that it was much different from Earth with wizards and demons, they were there as well. It was just the way it all sounded so weird and out of place to Ginny.

"Tell me about Middle Earth?" Ginny asked. If she was thrown into this insane world and a war she at least wanted to know something about that world. She needed to know how big her chance was to be killed and be reunited with Harry and her family. Or else, what she should be fighting for.

Gandalf started to tell her all about a strange world. Gandalf told her about creatures she had never heard of before, Orcs, Uruk-hai, he told her about the Shire and the Halflings who lived there, about the different kingdoms of men, about Mordor and Sauron. He was a bit hesitant but he told her about the forging of the great Ring of power and the greed of men. She felt like he was completely honest with her, like he wanted her to know what she would be fighting for and against. He didn't gave her an edited version but the full story, the good and bad.

"Sauron was defeated by an army of men and elves, once the ring of power was cut from his hand he was gone. Isildur had the chance to destroy the ring but it corrupted his mind and he allowed that evil would endured. Sauron's spirit is linked to the existence of the ring and stayed undefeated."

"Voldemort." Ginny whispered. To her the story of Sauron sounded so fucking much like that of Voldemort. She had heard Harry's story about the horcruxes as he dueled Voldemort, she knew about the darkness of the dairy. It was so similar. It made her wonder how similar both world were.

"I'm sorry?" Gandalf asked.

Ginny looked up at the old man, he looked slightly concerned and though she really didn't want to remember anything about Voldemort or the battle, she knew one day she had to face it all. This was the most easiest part of her story.

"Where I come from… we were at war as well… We fought against a wizard named Voldemort and his Death Eaters. This Voldemort, he had been vanished before, how and what happened is mainly a great mystery but nobody ever truly believed he was gone forever and one day by use of ancient magic he returned to his body and the second blood war started. His soul was able to survive the first time because he created Horcruxes. Objects that by use of dark magic contained a part of his soul. It sounds so similar to the ring and Sauron."

Gandalf nodded, she could see him think about her words but he didn't ask for more information.

Her words lingered in her mind as well. The second blood war. She had known it was to be dangerous, she had known people would end up getting killed but her whole family, everybody… except her.

It just didn't make sense, she was the youngest, not nearly as smart as Hermione, not nearly as skilled as Bill, and yet they were dead and she was in a world she had never heard off. She remembered every move she made yesterday, every Death Eater she faced, somehow she always won her duels, curses would miss her like she had swallowed a bottle of felix. She didn't felt lucky, though. She felt lost, angry and empty. There was nothing left for her.


	3. Meeting hobbits

Thank you all for reading this story. I'll try to keep it to short chapters and update regularly.

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**3. Meeting Hobbits**

Suddenly there was a loud noise in the forest. She heard high-pitched voices, a deep voice and the creaking of wood. Some sort of instinct kicked in and she jumped up and raised her wand.

Gandalf heard it as well but surprisingly he was smiling. He looked expectantly into the forest. Ginny moved closer to him, hiding a bit behind him. He had told her enough of this Middle Earth to expect something dangerous.

Her jaw nearly hit the ground when she saw a tree walking towards them. A real tree, walking and talking. It was holding two children in its… claws… branches…She blinked a few times to make sure she wasn't dreaming. It was real, a large tree and moving towards them. It spoke. _Insane_.

"Maybe you are, maybe you aren't, the white wizard will know." The tree spoke and dropped the two children on the floor. They looked scared and let out a scream as they fell. Her eyes immediately flashed back to the tree. _A talking tree_!

"Bloody hell." She whispered.

Gandalf took a step forward and looked down at the children. To Ginny it seemed like he was glowing. She felt his magic flowing from him and a white light seem to be forming around him but it couldn't keep her attention, the tree was doing just that.

"Stand up, Meriadoc Brandybuck and Peregrin Took." Gandalf said.

Ginny tore her eyes away from the strange tree and looked down at the two children. They were scrambling to their feet. Once they stood Ginny noticed that they weren't children. They were men, though a head shorter than she was, they were adults. _Hobbits_, she suddenly realized as she remembered Gandalf's story about the Halflings.

"Gandalf?" One of the two asked confused. The old man nodded and smiled at the two hobbits. "Gandalf!" the other shouted happy and ran toward him. The old wizard was suddenly pulled into a hug by the two hobbits.

Apparently Gandalf was surprised by it, his face was pulled into a funny expression as the hobbits wrapped their way too short arms around him like little kids would. Something of a chuckle escaped from Ginny's lips as she watched them.

Her face fell as soon as she heard her own chuckle. Laughter didn't feel right. She couldn't really laugh when it hurt so much just to be alive. In a second she remembered how Harry's eyes had flashed with happiness when she laughed. It hurt to remember. Like a knife stabbing through her chest.

Her strangled chuckle alerted the Hobbits and the terribly strange tree of her presence.

"Who's that?" one of the hobbits asked.

"This is lady Ginevra. She is a friend of mine." Gandalf said. She was so shocked to hear the old wizard introducing her as a friend that she forgot to correct him with the name. Friendliness wasn't something she had experienced from strangers over the last two years. It came as a bit of a surprise that the wizard would see her as a friend.

"Are you a wizard too?" the hobbit asked.

"I'm a witch." Ginny answered. The Hobbits smiled up at her and nodded. Somehow the two hobbits reminded her of her brothers, they both had a mischievous glint in their eyes, just like Fred and George. She winched internally.

"A witch?" the other calmer hobbit asked in awe.

"Can you make fireworks like Gandalf?" the excited one asked.

_Fireworks_…It felt like somebody hit her in her stomach. The air she had in her lungs escaped with a gasp. Her arms wrapped around her stomach in the hope to hold herself together. Bright images of beautiful fireworks flashed in her memory as she heard her brothers laugh as an echo in the distance.

"I'm sure lady Ginevra can create beautiful fireworks but now is not the time young hobbits."

"No, master Gandalf." The tree said. "Tell me if these little orcs are indeed hobbits from the Shire."

Ginny welcomed the distraction and used the time they watched Gandalf converse with the tree to pull herself back together.

The idea of a talking tree alone was still insane. With another quick look at her surroundings she realized that this world was stranger than she thought. Though she was a witch and magic was the reality of her life, it was hard to believe this sort of strangeness. She sat down and waited for the conversation to end. All the while she felt the eyes of the hobbits on her. _Had they never seen a girl before_!

Gandalf and the tree, she found out was named Treebeard, talked for many hours. They discussed the war and life in the forests. They talked about rumors, the movement of the elves and about humans. All the while the hobbits ate and smoked a pipe that smelled terribly and talked little amongst them selves. It was mainly about food and their lost companions.

Ginny tried to listen to Gandalf and Treebeard but after a while her attention lessened and unwanted memories flooded back into her mind. Even with her eyes wide open, focusing on the talking tree she saw Harry's mangled body flying through the air. She had barely a second to raise her shield to prevent her from meeting the same fate. Now all she wished for was that she hadn't. Why hadn't she let the blast hit her too? Or even better why hadn't she been in time to save Harry?

She remembered running towards him while he dueled with Voldemort. Many times Death Eaters had blocked her way. She remembered hitting them with curses she had never used before. In her fear and panic she had used deathly curses or very painful ones. It seemed that most of the Death Eaters were too surprised by her using such deathly curses to do anything in reaction.

It hadn't mattered, she hadn't gotten to Harry in time and even if she would have, she was almost sure she couldn't have done much, except dying.

Suddenly her stomach reminded her that she hadn't eaten in a long time. It growled and grumbled. It pulled her out of her thoughts. She had been crying again, her cheeks were wet. Quickly she wiped her face clean.

Her stomach growled again, this time loud enough for the Hobbits to hear.

"Here." One of the hobbits said and held out something that looked like bread. "it's lembas, elf bread. We managed to keep some hidden in our pockets when the Uruks took us."

"Thanks." She whispered. She took the small bite of bread from the Hobbit and nibbled on it. It tasted surprisingly good. Like toast but sweeter. Once she had something in her stomach it stopped growling. She looked back at the hobbits. They looked nervous, haggard and a bit frightened. "What is your name?" she asked the hobbit that gave her the bread.

"Oh, how rude of us!" the hobbit yelped. "I'm Meriadoc but Merry will do."

"I'm Pippin." The other said. "Sorry, we didn't introduce ourselves properly milady."

"It's okay, and please no milady's to me. It's Ginny."

Both hobbits smiled and nodded to her. Again Ginny was hit with the images of her twin brothers. Their eyes bright with mayhem and mischief, their laughter ringing in her ear, their smile wicked and a glint of evil.

Quickly she looked away from the hobbits. Her hand wiped away the tears that had rolled down her face. It wasn't fair!

"Tell me a bit about yourselves?" She asked the hobbits, hoping they would provide distraction.

And they did. They told her all about Hobbits, the Shire, about Frodo's quest and about how they ended up with Treebeard. It was a really exciting story. The hobbits were very good storytellers and really excited to get it all out. She realized that they had already seen a lot of horror already, even though to her the Hobbits seemed quite innocent. She felt for them as they told her how one of their companions died before their eyes. How helpless they felt when their protector got shot three times with arrows.

She felt she could sympathize. It wasn't hard to remember the helplessness she felt when she watched Harry battle Voldemort. When she watched the final stroke of the wand. She had known what was going to happen but couldn't stop it anyway.

It was already growing dark when Gandalf and Treebeard moved towards them. Ginny got up quickly and skidded backwards, she still didn't really trust the tree.

"We have decided that it's best that the young hobbits stay here. Treebeard promised me that he will keep you safe until I come for the two of you." Gandalf announced.

"What?" Merry yelped. "What about the quest? What about Frodo and Sam? We promised to help them."

Gandalf moved towards the Hobbits and place a hand on the Hobbit's shoulder. He leaned and Ginny had to strain her ears to hear what he said to them.

"I think you two can mean more to the war and to the quest here." The old man said with a wink.

The hobbits seemed confused, they didn't seem to understand what Gandalf meant but Ginny had already decided that the old wizard looked like Dumbledore. Always riddles and secret.

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	4. About companions

**Thank you all for the review and feedback... I love it! PLease keep them coming...**

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4. about companions.

While they ate a little bit more the group waited till it was dark. Gandalf considered it wise to wait for darkness before the hobbits said goodbye. Treebeard was planning on calling an Entmoet. She wasn't sure what it was but it sounded impressive. It was something Pippin and Merry were excited about, Ginny had the feeling they hoped to participate in the war together with the trees. Though the idea of many more trees like Treebeard was slightly disturbing to her.

Gandalf and the hobbits had talked for a long time about what happened after they got separated in Moria. The hobbits confirmed that at least three of their companions were following them. They suspected Frodo had left the group to finish his quest on his own but they weren't sure what had happened to Sam. They was really worried about their friend Sam but Gandalf told them he trusted Aragorn with any decision regarding the safety of the Hobbits and the success of their quest.

"We should get comfortable for the night." Gandalf commented after they watched the hobbits leave. Ginny nodded but immediately realized that it meant sleeping on the forest floor again. _If I can sleep at all_.

"I don't have blankets or anything for you." Gandalf admitted.

"That's alright." Ginny shrugged. She was a witch after all. She could transfigure a leaf into a blanket if she wanted to. Heck she could conjure up a bed if it was needed.

She pulled out her wand and looked at it. She wondered if her magic would work the same in this strange world as it had done back home. She searched for her own magic, the steady hum that was always present in a witch or wizard. It was still as strong as the day she got hold of her wand and even more important it felt the same.

She bent down to pick up a large leaf. It looked strong enough to endure the transfiguration. She pointed her wand and it and muttered the incantation. Transfiguration and hexes had always been her strongest points. It was almost natural to her. The leaf slowly turned into a think woolen blanket.

Once the blanket had finished changing to Ginny's wishes she heard somebody gasp. She looked up to see Gandalf looking at her in shock.

"What?" She asked.

"How did you do that?"

"Transfiguration. Surely you can do it as well. You're a wizard after all."

"No, Lady Ginevra." Gandalf shook his head. "the power of the Istari lays with wielding the strength given to us by the earth. We can channel energy and bent it to our will. There are stories about powerful Istari being able to change people into something unnatural but not like that."

Ginny looked at him in surprise. He had said he was a wizard, so naturally she took it that he was the same as her, with the same kind of power and that his magic would work the same.

"You can't do transfiguration?" She asked.

"No, not like that."

"What about curses, hexes, shields?" she wondered how this wizard was to battle.

"Curses and shields I can create." Gandalf said with a nod. "Yet, somehow I think it will be different than yours."

Ginny shook her head in confusion. She had never considered differences in magic. In her world everything worked on the same principle. Every witch or wizard had a magical core. At school they learned how to use this core to it's full potential. The core was what gave a witch or wizard power. She knew there were highly skilled witches and wizard could use the earth natural energy to strengthen their magic. Besides that there was no deviation. She would have to see if it Gandalf's magic was so much different from her own.

"Here." Ginny said as she handed Gandalf the blanket. "I'll make an other one." She bent down to pick up another large leaf and transfigured it. She found a place on a flat spot in the moss that looked slightly softer than the rest and wrapped herself with the blanket.

She was terribly tired but sleep wouldn't come. Every time she closed her eyes she relived the final battle again. She saw how the castle she had called her home away from home grumbled into pieces. She saw a curse hit Charlie as it broke through the wards he and Bill had held up for so long. Long enough to evacuate the younger kids. It was a cutting curse. Blood had spilled from every part of his body.

She turned around and tried her other side, she expected that at some point she would fall asleep but after another long time she was still awake. Tears flowed from her eyes and her whole body shook with silent sobs. How could it hurt so much just to be alive?

She cried herself to sleep shortly before sunrise but even sleep didn't give her much peace. She dreamed about Harry, about how their time together had been nothing short of a dream but every time she wanted to kiss him in her dream he looked dead. Like his dead body with empty green eyes. Not really looking, never seeing, his skin covered in cuts and blood.

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The girl was a strange creature, that much Gandalf knew the moment he saw her. Somehow he felt protective of her but not because of her power or because she was a witch. It was something unexplainable for him. He knew that she was in pain and danger but to him from the first moment he saw her she felt like a granddaughter to him. Something inside told him that she was important, to him and to the rest of the world.

And what he had seen her do to a leaf was a whole other level of strange. Intriguing but strange. Her way of wielding magic was so different then his own. He couldn't wait to find out more about her ways of magic.

He heard her cry through the night. He wasn't really tired and stayed a bit more alert incase the forest would wake up. So he heard her soft wails and whimpers. She cried for a long time, softy and to herself. It was heartbreaking to hear such a young woman cry like that.

He knew very little of what had happened to her before she ended up as his companion but he suspected it was horrible. He had seen flickers of her pain. When Pippin asked about fireworks and later when she had talked with the hobbits. She would turn pale white, her eyes would get watery and she looked like she felt sick. Almost like something was torturing her.

It made him wonder how much horror the young woman had seen in the war she had described to him and it made him even more apprehensive about letting her get involved in Sauron's war. He hadn't lied to her when he told her he didn't think she would have an option. He couldn't send her to Rivendell or Lothlorien alone, nor could he go with her. Things needed to be finish first. He was needed in Edoras before Rohan fell to Saruman. There wasn't another option than for the young lady to travel with him.

Shortly before sunrise she fell asleep, Gandalf heard her breath calming slightly but she didn't sleep peacefully, she trashed and whimpered constantly. He nearly jumped a league when she suddenly jolted up.

"Harry!" she gasped, grabbing wildly around her. "Harry?" she moaned again. This time her eyes flashed open and Gandalf saw a deep-rooted fear and pain in them. He got up and walked to her. She didn't seem to notice him. It looked like she was still in trance with her dream.

"Are you alright, Ginevra?" Gandalf asked. His words made that she snapped out of it and her eyes met Gandalf's. Her eyes were red rimmed and streaming with tears. Gandalf kneeled down next to her and took her hands in his. "I don't know much about you, Ginevra but I know that you have seen too many horrors already." Ginny blinked her eyes and nodded slightly. "It would do no good to keep your fears and pains locked up, it would ruin you from the inside."

"I can't talk about it, Gandalf. It hurts too much." Ginny whispered between the gasping breaths.

"I know and I won't force you but please don't let the past destroy you. I believe you are here for a reason. I pray and hope that it will lead you to happiness."

Ginny snorted. "I don't think that will be possible for me, everything that made me happy was taken from me, forever."

Gandalf brushed his knuckles over her wet face to wipe away the tears.

"Nobody really knows what the future holds, my dear Ginevra. People can see bits and pieces of it but never the complete truth."

With that Gandalf got up and walked to the edge of the clearing. There was a small stream there. He kneeled down at the edge of it and washed his face.

Ginny watched the man as he kneeled down by the stream. She couldn't and wouldn't believe his words. She was in this world. A strange world on the brink of war, nothing happy ever came from a war, only death.

"If you want to bath, you should do it here, after you finished we shall travel towards the edge of the forest, I expect to find my companions there." Gandalf said.

The idea of bathing sounded alluring, she was still covered with blood and dirt but with him there…

"Don't worry, dear. I'll go and find us some food, you can have a little privacy." Gandalf said as if he read her thoughts.

"Thanks." She murmured and got up. Her restless night was still shaking her body and she ached all over. Silently she walked towards the small stream. The water was clear and looked freezing cold but when she kneeled next to it and tested the water with her hand. She was surprised by it's warmth.

"Magic." She hissed. Dipping her hand into the water again she felt a powerful magical current running through the water. It didn't feel evil or dark but rather calming and healing. Was this what Gandalf used to wield his magic? It felt too good to ignore. Without a second thought she stripped down naked and slid into the stream.

The water was warm, soothing and cleansing. It relaxed her aching body and for a while she forgot her sorrows, like they were washed away with the stream. She took time to clean the remaining cuts and wounds and she washed her hair. She almost moaned in pleasure as the water brushed her head.

After lying in the water for a while she realized that Gandalf would return soon, with a heavy sigh she got up and out of the warm water. The heaviness of the days before returned immediately. She picked up her wand and muttered a drying spell. Freeing her hair and her body from any droplets.

Her clothes were torn and dirty. She viewed them from all angles and decided that she could mend them with magic. As she worked her mending and sowing charms she realized that she wasn't as good as her mother had been. A tear escaped as she remembered how her mother would do it, at home, sitting on the sofa, her wand was casually waved over thorn clothing.

After they were back in proper condition she soaked her clothes in the stream. It seem to wash away all of the dirt and remains of blood. With a quick cleaning and drying charm her clothes were clean and fresh again.

A noise in the distance snapped her out of her sad memory. As quickly as she could she put on her clothes and gripped her wand tightly. She heard scuffling and the snapping of twig. Who ever or what ever it was, was coming towards her and wasn't making it a secret.

"Lady Ginevra, are you finished and decent?" a familiar voice called. With a sigh she lowered her wand.

"Yes, you can come back, Gandalf."

Gandalf waked towards her with his arms full of fresh fruits.

"Your clothes look a lot better, did you wash them as well?"

"A bit most of it were just sowing and cleaning charms." Ginny explained. "It works every time."

Gandalf looked curious but nodded and handed her half of the fruits he had found.

"Thanks." She murmured as she looked at the variety of fruits. She wasn't hungry, not really, she still felt sick. Like the images of the war had infested her stomach but she recognized that she had eaten only a slice of toast-like elfish bread in more than two days. She really needed to eat.

She sat down on the blankets and nibbled on one of the apples. At least they were the same as in her world.

"We should move soon, I don't want let my companions travel too far into Fangorn. We need to get to Edoras soon." Gandalf commented has he looked up at the sun.

"Why are you in such a hurry to get to that town?"

"King Théoden lives in his Golden Hall in Edoras. From there he rules over Rohan but Saruman has poisoned his mind. I fear war is coming to his country and he is not in a state of defending it."

"What can you do?" Ginny remembered how it felt to have Riddle possess her mind. It needed quite some force to destroy him.

"I don't know yet, it depends on the hold Saruman has over the King."

Ginny nodded. "Who are these companions you talk about?" she asked.

"When we walk, I'll tell you about them." Gandalf said as he got up. Ginny followed him after she took a second to pocket some of the food and return to blankets to their original state.

They walked through the forest for a few hours. It grew darker and darker. Ginny became nervous, she half expected, half feared to walk back into the forbidden forest. She was sure she never wanted to return to that.

As the forest grew thicker and darker her hold on her wand grew tighter. She feared the moment of reaching the edge of the forest. She was sure she would be confronted with the dead bodies of her family.

It was a strange battle inside her. She wished to be dead, to join her family and Harry once more. She ached for the sweet relief death would give her. She would be free from the pain and suffering but her body reacted differently. Something in it fought for survival. Pumping up her heartbeat, making her hearing sharper and her eyes noticed each small change, like she was hunting for Death Eaters.

She prayed that nobody on the good side would jump from behind the trees because her nerves were so frayed at that moment that she would seriously hurt that person. In the hope to calm down she reminded Gandalf of his promise. Maybe if the old man talked she wouldn't be so focused on her fears.

"I have told you how we got separated." Gandalf mused.

"Yeah, some unbelievable tale about a passage under the mountain guarded by creatures named Goblins and a demon." Ginny nodded.

"That's quite a short explanation but fact." Gandalf said with a chuckle. "We were traveling from Rivendell to Mordor with nine companions. Two you have already met. Merry and Pippin. There were two other hobbits, according to Merry, at least Frodo left the fellowship and set on his own path to destroy the ring. Frodo carries a heavy burden. One I fear will destroy him in the end. I hope my fears will stay only fears. I don't think Sam is still with the fellowship. Maybe he went with Frodo or maybe he went home. I cannot see. The others travel too fast to have a hobbit with them." Gandalf looked a bit worried. Ginny got the feeling Gandalf didn't care much for the antics of the hobbits but he really loved the little folk.

"The others are Aragorn, Son of Arathorn, Gimli, son of Gloin and Legolas of the Woodland realm. Legolas is an elf."

"An elf?" Ginny asked in surprise.

"Have you heard of the elves before?" Gandalf asked. Not minding her interruption.

"In my world we have elves but I don't think they are the same creatures as the elf you mentioned. In my world we have house-elves. They are tiny creatures that live to serve. They live in ancient wizarding homes and they serve the family there until they die."

"No, Legolas is definitely not like that. Elves in Middle Earth were the first to roam these lands and they are the most beautiful creatures, tall, strong, immortal and good warriors. Legolas is the son of a king and though he is the kindest elf you can meet, he is to be treated with respect. His presence alone demands respect."

Ginny nodded, she had a hard time imagining the elf. Maybe something close to a male Veela.

"Gimli is a dwarf."

Ginny raised her eyebrows, _a dwarf?_ They had dwarves in her world she wondered if they were the same. She had only read about them, she never really met them so she couldn't really compare.

"Dwarves are a proud race. You insult them very easily but Gimli is good natured. He'll like you just because you aren't an elf." Gandalf chuckled. "The dwarves live in the mountains, they are natural miners. Gimli of the son of one of the greatest man I ever knew."

"What about this Aragorn, his name sounds kingly and you talk about him like he is?" Ginny asked when Gandalf fell silent.

"He is." Gandalf said, he sounded slightly impressed but then again, she had always been able to see what was real when it came to people. "Aragorn is from a long line of kings, great king of men but he carries the weight of the Ring and Sauron's survival heavily on his shoulders. He is Isildur's heir and blood. He thinks his blood unworthy of such a responsible task. He fears that he too will be corrupted by evil. That's why he is on this quest. I believe that in the end he'll see his true worth."

As she listened to the old man talking about Aragorn, she winched slightly and a pain ripped through her body, images of Harry flashed through her mind as the memory overtook her.

"_Maybe you should just let it go, Harry, become who you are destined to be. Maybe you should stop fighting it." She told him as she sat down in his lap._

"_I can't Ginny. I'm not what they want me to be." Harry argued. "I'm not strong, I don't have any strange powers that Riddle doesn't have."_

"_Harry! You are the strongest wizard I have ever heard off, maybe even more powerful than Merlin himself. You just have to learn a lot."_

"_A lot! Ginny. I can't become what you want me to be by learning! I need to find some sort of power that Voldemort doesn't have! How will I do that?!"_

"_You just have to become more you. You already are all that you need to be, just get comfortable with who you are." She said with full devotion._

"_What I am? Ginny, what am I? I'm a scrawny boy, a beaten up child, an orphan, a attention seeker, something that always seemed to be found by trouble and somebody who gets his family and friends killed." Harry shouted heatedly._

"_That's not what I see."_

"_You aren't the most objective person when it comes to me."_

"_Alright, shall we go and ask what Luna sees, or what the twins see in you?! They see the final hope of our freedom, they see a man that would die for his friends, they see a powerful wizard that is prepared to teach them and they see a lovable person just because of his selflessness. Don't you see, they all love you and not because you are a hero but because you are prepared to fight for them, die for them and destroy half the world for them. If the prophecy is true, you had that power the moment he marked you. You shouldn't worry about that, just train, become stronger and more able to defend yourself."_

_Her rant rang loudly through the air. It was followed by a long silence. Harry continued to stare at her. Suddenly he grabbed her shoulders and pulled her into a heated kiss._

"_I don't agree with you but I sure am in love with you." He murmured against her lips._

"Ginevra!" Somebody called loudly. Somebody was shaking her. "Ginevra?"

Her eyes found focus and recognized Gandalf's eyes. It was all just a memory, Harry was dead, he did sacrifice himself for them all, all in vein. Everybody was dead, everybody she loved, except herself.

"Are you feeling alright?" Gandalf asked. She wanted to say no, she wanted to scream in pain, she wanted to beg him to kill her as well but she found herself nodding and her voice saying. "I'm alright, just a memory."

"Don't let them rule you, you are stronger than that." Gandalf told her and let go of her shoulders.

He had easy talking, how could she forget what happened? How could she let go of it? She should be happy with her family and Harry. Now after Voldemort was vanquished they all should live happily in peace. Look at her now, alone, broken and every memory hurt like hell.


	5. Magic

**I just managed to finish reviewing this chapter. **

**As I told on my page, I won't be updating until the second week of January. I'm going to move into my new house and won't have access to the internet. I'll do some writing so I hope I can update as soon as I have a connection in my new house.**

**Enjoy this chapter and please review!**

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5. Magic

They walked on in silence for another hour or so. The forest was massive, a lot bigger than the forbidden forest back home. Yet, there was also magic in this forest, she could feel its power running through her. It was the same hum she had felt in the stream. It was a strong power, kind and gentle. Though she could feel also an angry more aggressive type of energy flowing.

"This forest…" Ginny started. Gandalf turned to look at her. "It's full of magic."

"It is. Fangorn forest is very old. Once Elves lived here. They worked with the trees, woke them up with their magic. They created shepherds to manage the trees, keep them from evil things. Treebeard is one of the oldest shepherds."

"Can you feel the flows? How it hums?" She asked.

"Yes, that's where we Istari get most of our power from. It was makes our magic strong."

Ginny nodded and tried to feel the magic again. It was a steady hum, like a heart beat. She felt her magical core absorb the power of the current and instead of fighting it she let it flow. With each second that passed she felt stronger, better and she hated to admit happier.

"What are you doing?" She heard Gandalf ask, his voice was slightly alarmed. She opened her eyes and gasped. Everything was more detailed, she could see sharper and over a longer distance. She could very clearly see the aging lines on Gandalf's face but also a soft pure white glow around him. "Ginevra?"

"I'm…" She sighed and released the magic that had been building up inside her. Her eyesight sight weakened a bit and her body felt a bit heavier. "I was trying to get a feel for the magic in this world. It's so strong. It makes me stronger." She breathed in awe.

"I could see that." Gandalf noticed. "Your magic is as wild as fire, colored like your hair."

"You could see my magic?" Ginny asked in surprise.

"Me and the rest of Middle Earth I presume. It was really bright. You have to be careful doing that, it might draw the wrong attention."

Ginny was shocked. She had seen Gandalf's magic glow, it had been pure white but hers? Flaming red? Like fire? It didn't make the slightest of sense for her magic to bare such a powerful color. In her world red, orange and all colors in between meant something powerful. People always claimed that she was small but powerful. Her hexes could be strong and her transfiguration skills were above the normal but besides that she was just an ordinary witch. She shook her head, an other riddle to solve and an other mystery in this weird world.

"We shall wait for the others here." Gandalf stated as he looked around him.

"How are you so sure that they will pass this way?" Ginny asked him as she sat down against a young tree.

"Aragorn is a highly skilled tracker, he will follow the ent-tracks, that will bring them here." Gandalf said as he pointed at a dent in the forest floor. She couldn't really make out anything more than a dent and a puddle of mud but she guessed she wasn't made for tracking. Gandalf sat down next to her and looked around. "We should be prepared for anything tomorrow morning. Aragorn, Gimli and Legolas think I'm dead. They only know Saruman as a white wizard. Legolas will see me approach them, I'm not sure if they attack or not."

"I can protect us both easily." Ginny shrugged.

"Can you do that without hurting them?"

"Of course."

Gandalf nodded and looked at her, she was still a strange creature in his eyes. One moment she was so broken, almost begging for death to take her, only to find a strong almost warrior like woman the next. He understood that the horrors she had faced just days ago had broken her heart but her spirit was still strong and fighting for what her heart gave up. He just hoped she would survive long enough to recover from the heartache.

"I would like to see more of your magic, someday." Gandalf mused. "I wonder how similar or different it is from mine. Can you tell me about what you can do?"

Ginny eyed the old man carefully. If there was anything she had learned in the second blood war was not to trust anyone with your knowledge but Gandalf seemed to be honest and one of the people of the light. Besides who or what should she to fear here. She would welcome death like an old friend and life maybe less friendly but still…she didn't really care what would happen.

"I don't know if it differs from yours. You saw the transfiguration of the leaf into the blanket. A fully trained wizard in my world with a feeling for transfiguration could change anything within certain laws. Animals into cups, whistles into watches, human into animal, anything mainly. My clothes, I used simple cleaning and sowing charms to mend them. There are all sorts of household charms. I can easily make things fly or come to me. Those are all basic spells. There are much more complicated things, curses, potions, charms, wards. I was about to start my last year of school and haven't had the chance to really learn it all."

Gandalf nodded. "And defensive or offensive? What can you do to protect or when needed kill?" He did notice Ginny flinching when he said that last word.

"A lot." Ginny said after a deep breath to push away the emotions. She waved her wand and muttered "Protego". A shimmer erupted from her wand and wrapped itself around them. "This is the simplest of shields I can produce, Most curses or spells can't penetrate it as long as I keep it strong but when the attacks are strong and frequent I can't hold it for long. Also it won't do much good against a killing curse or any really dark curses. In battle I use it only when I can't dodge the curse or hex. It all depends on the attack. From here I can only go up." She flicked her wand again and a glass bowl like sphere formed around them. "This will keep many objects out but it drains a lot of magic from me. I can't keep this up for long. It's the strongest shield I can create. Wizards only use it when battles are fought with solid attributes like swords or ammunition."

Gandalf looked thoroughly impressed and Ginny smirked. The best was yet to come.

"Offensive, I can be a lot more creative." She flicked her wand again and produced a small dummy in mid air and with an other flick she incinerated the dummy. It made Gandalf jump slightly.

"Never before…" he murmured.

"This is nothing, my strongest feat has always been my hexes but my curses are powerful as well."

Gandalf was shocked. He had felt her power, he had thought about how her magic would look but to actually see it in action was something different. Would she ever face the Witch-king or Saruman they wouldn't stand a chance. She would blast them away before they could even start an incantation. Her way of magic was much quicker than that of the Istari. She didn't need long invocations or extensive spells to do damage, just a flick of her wrist was enough. He noticed that most of the time she didn't even spoke the words to the spell.

"The wooden stick, why do you use it?" he asked.

"A wand channels the power of a witch or wizard, it focus the magic and give it direction. I think it's similar to your staff, isn't it?"

"It is." Gandalf nodded. "An interesting thing to bind so much power in such a small thing. Though, very useful, you can hide your weapon much more easily."

Ginny couldn't help but agree, with her wand in it's holster strapped to her arm she would look completely defenseless.

"Yes, though I'm not sure about my power on this strange Earth. The magic around here is strong, old and different. It is influencing my own magic, altering it a bit. I may need to practice a bit to see if I can do everything I was able to do back home."

Gandalf nodded.

"Have you ever had any training with sword or bow?" Gandalf suddenly asked.

"A little." Ginny nodded. She was a bit taken by surprise, they went from magic to knight's play and physical battle in the blink of an eye.

"Really? How much is a little?"

Ginny felt her chest ripped open in pain again as this wasn't a memory she wanted to relive. It was one of her most happiest summers and it involved her brother Charlie. It hurt to remember.

"I…" She started as she swallowed away the pain. " I know how to hold sword and strike a blow but I don't think I'll last long in a serious battle."

Gandalf nodded. He had expected that much. Most wizards neglected physical training because of their faith in magic but he knew it was useful to be good with a sword in this world. As he glanced over her body. He didn't expect Ginevra to be completely without physical training, she looked physically strong. She looked like she could wield a light elfish sword pretty well.

"We'll have to ask Aragorn to train you with sword, or Legolas with bow. You have to be able to defend yourself in physical combat as well. Whether you fight in this war or not." He commented.

"Or both." Ginny said with a shrug.

"If we can find the time."

Ginny sighed, as they waited she took some time to look around her. A bit less than two days she had now been in this strange world. Two days since she had lost everything she held dear. Two days since her world fell apart. It wasn't really enough time to really realize what had happened. She still felt like she lived in a dream, a nightmare. Even the strange dark trees around her were slightly dreamlike.

"Am I dreaming, Gandalf?" she asked.

"No, I don't think you are dreaming." He answered her seriously.

"I feel so out of it. So different, dazed slightly. I cry, it hurts…"

"I understand, your grief is still so severe that it takes time for your mind to catch up with it. For almost everybody it takes time to realize what has happened. Some never do. Besides it's not strange for you to feel out of place here. You are out of place here. You come from an other world, that was your home, anywhere else is out of place." Gandalf explained calmly. "You'll have to learn to love Middle Earth as your home now. Or at least until we find the reason of you coming here and a way to get you back home."

"I don't know if I want to go home." Ginny whispered. "I don't have a home anymore, everything there is destroyed."

"I'm sure Middle Earth will be happy to welcome you if you choose this to be your home."

"A world in war… how did I end up here." Ginny sighed. "How am I supposed to feel at home in a world where war is threatening?"

"Love and acceptance can be found in the darkest of time. You just have to accept it. Live with it." Gandalf said.

"Could you do it? Go on with it? Without knowing where it will take you, not knowing if you end up more hurt than when you started?"

"Do we have a choice?" Gandalf asked.

"What do you mean? You always have a choice, free will."

"Do you really? You ended up in Middle Earth not by choice, did you?"

"I was wishing for an escape from my world." Ginny muttered.

"But something or someone decided that it was to be Middle Earth and now you're here you have only a few choices you can make. You can choose to leave and go your own way, with all the risks it will bring you. You can choose to join Sauron or you can choose to join those who fight for their freedom. You can even choose to end your life but to be able to live a happy life…it leaves you with not many choices."

Ginny nodded and understood what Gandalf was saying. Even back home, she had a choice. Join Voldemort or fight along with the D.A. For the happy life she had always dreamed of she had no choice. It was to fight.

"Did you choose to fight for your own happiness?" She asked Gandalf.

"No, I knew before I found the ring with Bilbo that my time on Middle Earth was limited. I have wandered this world for longer than a young woman like yourself can imagine. I will return home soon. I was asked by the Valar to come to Middle Earth and council those who are to fight Sauron but in all honesty I just want to see the glory days of men return, to see Middle Earth live in peace. When that is accomplished I can return to Valinor in peace."


	6. Companions

**Dear readers, I'm back! finally... I have a new house but the internet connection wasn't there... I have a few stories ready for this story (the only one I hadn't stored online... I'm going to update today and tomorrow. after that I'm going to focus on my main story for a month to get some chapters ready there. I'll come back here soon...**

**Okay this chapter is about introducing Ginny to Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli...**

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6. Companions.

Ginny had another restless night. Gandalf's explanation of having no choice but to fight if she wanted to be able to live and her desire to die and join her family fought a heavy battle inside her head and heart. Apparently there was still a part inside her that wanted a chance. That wanted to survive to see what life would offer her.

It made her dreams erratic and disturbing. She woke up twice by the screams coming from herself. Twice more she woke up, bathing in sweat and whimpering against the pain these dreams created. Her dreams were plagued with visions of Harry's death but the setting wasn't always Hogwarts. Sometimes it was a strange fortress or a damp and dark forest. She didn't even see her family, only Harry. Always Harry, going from a perfectly happy moment to what seemed like the darkest of horror stories. Blood, pain, death everywhere.

Gandalf had been there every time, soothing her, whispering calming words. He had been like a grandfather. Later in the morning after they got ready for the day he had offered her a chance to talk about it again. He told her that once his companions would arrive time to talk would become less but Ginny couldn't. It had not been even three days ago that her world broke into pieces, it was still too fresh.

"We should get ready." Gandalf murmured as he extinguished his pipe. Ginny nodded.

"Somebody is here. Close by." She whispered. She had been feeling an extra presence in the woods. Somebody with some sort of magic flowing from him or her. "I can feel at least one new magical being in the forest. His or her magic flows through the forest. It's so easy to feel it in this world."

Gandalf nodded. "Let's meet them. The sooner we are on our way the better." Gandalf walked forward slowly. "Stay behind me."

Ginny didn't need to be told that twice. Somehow the air of the forest started to get tense. It felt like the trees started to get angry. The trees were creaking, they gave a warning. She didn't like the feeling much.

As she followed Gandalf she heard sounds a little bit further away of people talking. She pulled her wand out of its holster and raised it. She saw that Gandalf was summoning some of his magic. His aura started to glow. His pure white light was illuminating the dark forest around them.

Again the sound of people speaking reached her.

"Do not let him speak, he'll put a spell on us." She heard a man say.

Gandalf stepped forward to confront the speaking man. In the light the wizard was emitting Ginny was able to make out the speaker. He had his sword raised. He looked ready to strike. Suddenly she heard the sound of something flying towards them and in an instinctual reaction she wrapped a shield around her and Gandalf. With a bang she saw an axe bounce of the shield and shatter. A second later it was followed by an arrow that met the same end.

Gandalf showed his real magic for the first time. The sword of the man in the front turned red hot. Like an extreme heating spell. The man quickly dropped it to prevent that his hands were burned severely.

She looked around, the blonde still had his arrow tight on his bow and the small one had his next ax ready. Deciding that they were still a threat so she kept her shield up. Though it was with difficulty. She tried to pull from the magic that flowed through the earth to keep her shield steady and was surprised that it worked so easily.

"You are tracking the footsteps of two young hobbits." Gandalf spoke, his voice vibrating with magic. "They passed this way, the day before yesterday. They met someone they didn't expect, does that comfort you?"

Ginny was sure that this wizard was Dumbledore reincarnated, his feeling for drama and grandeur was just as weird and impressive. As were his riddles.

"Who are you!" the man in the front demanded. "Show yourself."

With a smile that Ginny knew was mocking them Gandalf released the magic and dimmed his light.

"It can't be." The man whispered. "You fell."

"Through fire and water." Gandalf answered, an experienced story teller he told the men about his journey. Ginny had heard this story before and took her time to look at the three travelers. The man who had spoken was probably Aragorn. She hadn't been wrong about him. He had something regal about him. With a stab of pain she realized he looked a bit like Sirius. Roughish look, long dark hair, strong face and sad eyes. She wondered if he was just as nice as Sirius.

The short man was the dwarf, Gimli. He had a long reddish brown beard and hair. He wore heavy armor, multiple axes and a helmet that looked very heavy. Besides that Ginny thought he had a friendly look to him. He was definitely not as scary as she expected him to be from Gandalf's stories about dwarves.

To the far left stood the Elf. Her jaw dropped as she looked at the beautiful being. He was definitely not a house-elf! His blond long hair, his fair perfect skin, sea green eyes and muscled body were stunning. _Surely Veela's are related to them_, she mused. Legolas, as Gandalf had named him wore a dark green cloak, green breaches, leather boots and a darker green tunic. Ginny could see it was decorated but she wasn't close enough to see the details.

As their stance turned less offensive Legolas lowered his bow and Gimli kneeled. It was for her enough to lower her shield. She did so with an exhausted sigh. Keeping up that shield was very draining even with the aid of the energy around her.

"Gandalf." The man said. The others followed in a whisper.

"Gandalf?" The wizard asked. His expression was comical. Like he just heard that name for the first time. It almost made Ginny laugh. It was all a part of coming back to the world of the living and introducing himself for Gandalf. There was no doubt left in her, this was Dumbledore in a new body. "Yes, that was my name, Gandalf the Gray. I am Gandalf the White and I come back to you at the turn of the tide."

Ginny listened to the power that resonated from the wizard. This wasn't the Gandalf she had come to know over the last two days. Perhaps this was his face towards the outside world. To her he had seemed more a grandfather but now she realized he was also a figure of power, a leader. She really liked the old man, his sense of humor and antic but also his wisdom and kindness.

After their initial greetings Gandalf turned towards her and smiled.

"Come here, my dear, I'll introduce you."

With her head held up high and a deep gulp of air she stepped out of the shadows. She felt a bit nervous to meet these new people. She wondered if they were different than the people back in England but she knew she had nothing to fear. Either they would accept her as Gandalf's friend or they would see her as a traitor or something dangerous and kill her. She could agree with both options.

She watched as all three men's eyes widened at her appearance.

"This is lady Ginevra, though she might correct me to name her Ginny." Gandalf said with a wink towards her. "She is an Istar."

At his words all three men immediately bowed to her. She knew from Gandalf's stories that all races of Middle Earth honored the Istari but this was a bit too much. The bowing and the submission were just weird. She wasn't any better than a man or elf.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, milady." Aragorn said with his head bowed. A bit uncomfortable with these formal greetings Ginny glanced at Gandalf. He smiled and nodded. She took another deep breath and stepped towards Aragorn. She held out a hand and placed it on his shoulder. At her touch he looked up in surprise.

"Please do not bow to me. The pleasure is all mine, Aragorn." Ginny whispered. His eyes widened a bit when he heard her saying his name but he stood up and nodded at her with a smile. Ginny smiled back, there was so much kindness in this man's eyes, she felt slightly overwhelmed by it.

When the others kept their heads down she moved towards Gimli.

"You too, Gimli, please do not bow for me."

The dwarf harrumphed and a small chuckle escaped from him. "Okay, lass. As you wish." He got up and shook her hand.

With another deep breath she turned to the elf. She felt different when it came to the elf. She wasn't sure but somehow she desired his approval the most.

"Legolas." She said softly. He looked up at her and met her eyes. The force of the depth and emotion in them nearly knocked her of her feet. They were even more stunning as she initially thought.

As she got closer she felt a soft energy coming from him. This man, elf, was the source of the magic she had felt before. A kind and loving magic but strong. Very strong. "Like I said there is no need to bow for me. I feel I should be the one to bow to all of you." Her voice was shaking slightly.

Legolas got up and nodded at her.

"The Istari are seen as a very powerful race of people. It would only do you good to treat them with the same respect as you treat a king." Legolas explained.

"There is no such need, Gandalf told me a lot about you all. Friends of Gandalf are friends of mine. You should not fear me nor treat me different." Ginny answered with a smile. She was happy that the three men accepted her so easily. She could only hope that when it came to using her magic in front of them they would still be so easy.

Gandalf nodded and place a hand on her shoulder.

"We should move." He told the group. He softly steered Ginny in the right direction. "One part of your journey is over, an other begins. We should travel to Edoras with great speed."

"Edoras? That's no short journey." The dwarf muttered.

"We heard rumors, that it goes ill with the king." Aragorn said as he walked next to Gandalf. "Yes, Saruman's hold on Théoden is strong, I feel it." Gandalf nodded, "We should make haste."

"What about the hobbits!" Gimli asked. "We can't leave them in this dark damp tree invested…" the air in the forest tightened and Ginny felt seriously threatened. "oh, charming, quite charming forest."

"It was more than mere chance that brought Merry and Pippin to Fangorn. A great power has been sleeping here for many long years. The coming of Merry and Pippin will be like the falling of small stones that starts an avalanche in the mountains." Gandalf said to Gimli.

"In one thing you haven't changed my dear friend." Aragorn said with an amused smile. "You still speak in riddles."

Ginny looked over her shoulder to see how Gandalf would react. Would he explain? With a sense of loss she remembered how Dumbledore used riddles to get Harry ready for what he needed to do. It learned them to really think about the words and not just trust what is being said.

"A thing is about to happen that has not happened since the Elder Days. The Ents are going to wake up and find that they are strong." Gandalf said with a smile.

"Strong?" Gimli asked. To Ginny the dwarf almost sounded scared and she couldn't blame him. She had seen Treebeard, she could imagine the destruction a whole bunch of such trees could create.

"So stop your fretting, Master Dwarf." Gandalf reprimanded the dwarf, "Merry and Pippin are quite safe. In fact, they are far safer than you are about to be." Gandalf was laughing at the dwarf and winked at Ginny as she followed him through the trees. The dwarf behind them was still muttering.

"Have you ever traveled by horse, Ginevra?" Gandalf asked as they made their way through the forest.

"No, but I have traveled on Thestrals before. They are similar to horses." She answered. Again the memory hurt, she winched slightly and fought against the tears that were threatening to rip her heart in two. "Will we travel to Edoras by horse?"

"Yes, it's the fastest way to cross the country."

Ginny nodded. She had always loved animals, horses in particular but by means of transport, she considered broom and apparition a far better idea. With a sad sigh she realized that they were a part of her past. No magical brooms here and the others couldn't apparate. She wasn't even sure if she could here.

While they walked back to the plains Legolas couldn't help but stare at the young woman that accompanied Gandalf. She was different from anything he had even encountered before. Her flaming red hair, her pale freckled skin, even her eyes were different. They were deep, full of fire but veiled with hurt and sadness. The soul behind them looked very old.

Her clothes were different too. It wasn't what a woman should wear but somehow it fitted her. Her tight breeches wrapped around long slender legs. The way-too-short tunic showed even more female features. Many women would feel very uncomfortable in those clothing but she didn't, she moved with confidence.

As an elf he had always been in touch with the flows of the Earth. He felt the power of Arda flowing through him constantly but she emitted something stronger. Even stronger than the magic he felt flowing from Gandalf. He knew she is a force to reckon with and maybe even fear.

He listened to her talk to Gandalf, she spoke to him with a familiarity that indicated they were old friends but she couldn't be older than seventeen summers. The words she used were different too. They weren't without respect but differently. Even when she had spoken to them her words had been respectful but not formal.

He hadn't been surprised that she knew their names, Gandalf would have told her but he was surprised that she the way she greeted them. Like she didn't realize how powerful the Istari were.

She was a mystery and he couldn't help but feeling drawn to her. In some strange way.


	7. Traveling

_**Okay, I know I promised a update soon after the last chapter but I have re-written this a bit.**_

_**A short explanation of the styles in this chapter:**_

_Italic: _memories or thoughts.

**bold:** elvish.

**_Italic and bold:_**Thoughts in elvish.

_**Please review...**_

* * *

**7. Traveling.**

The sunlight was very bright when they reached the open field. Ginny squinted her eyes and raised her hand to shield herself from the sun. Back home they had lived in darkness for so long. They had never dared to venture out and even outside the presence of the dementors made everything dark and chilly. Her eyes needed to get used to the bright sun but it felt really good on her body.

Next to her Gandalf whistled a tune. She looked up in surprise and he smiled at her.

"Look." He whispered as he nodded toward a part of the empty field.

A short while later a beautiful white horse appeared, it was racing toward them with great speed.

"That is one of the Mearas, unless my eyes are cheated by some spell." Legolas whispered in awe.

"Shadowfax. He is the lord of all horses ...and has been my friend through many dangers." Gandalf said as the horse stopped in front of them. Ginny felt the similar awe, as she had heard in Legolas's voice. The horse was magnificent. Its deep eyes looked wise, like the phoenix Dumbledore had owned.

"Hello Shadowfax." She whispered and raised her hand to brush his nose. The horse whined a bit and leaned in to be patted more intensely. It seemed to crave contact. "You are absolutely beautiful." She murmured.

Gandalf smiled at them. Ginny didn't even notice that the others looked at her in shock. Never before had the lord of the horses been so amicable with a human. Istar or not.

"Ginevra, I think it's best you travel with Aragorn. It will be more comfortable for you to sit in a saddle."

She looked up at Gandalf and than to Aragorn. He was standing next to a dark horse. Looking back to Shadowfax, she nodded.

"Okay." She patted the horse once more and turned to walk towards Aragorn.

"I'll get up first and than I'll heave you up, alright?" Aragorn said as he fastened his sword to the saddle. Ginny nodded. She didn't know any other way to get onto the horse anyway. Aragorn agilely climbed on the horse. It looked like he was born on one. Once he was seated he held his hand out to her. "Hold on tightly, I'll lift you up in one go." Ginny grabbed his wrist while he wrapped his large hand around hers, suddenly she was air born and trusted gently into the saddle.

She took a second to settle herself properly behind Aragorn. It felt a bit strange, sitting so close to a stranger. She was completely pressed against him. It got even stranger when they started to move. It wasn't scary but she didn't feel secure in the saddle and wrapped her arms around Aragorn.

"It's alright, hold on to me, milady," he said to calm her nerves a bit. "We are going a bit faster soon."

A bit faster was a bit of an understatement. Gandalf sure was in a hurry all right. Aragorn and Legolas really had to spur the horses on to keep up with Gandalf and Shadowfax. All the while the dwarf was muttering and grumbling about this way of travel.

As Ginny expected with this pace rest didn't come soon. They only stopped twice for a very short time to let the horses rest and drink a bit during the day. After four hours of galloping across the country her bum started to hurt. Suspecting that Gandalf wouldn't stop for rest until after dark she pulled out her wand and casted a numbing spell over herself.

It made her feel a lot better and more relaxed in the saddle. She leaned a bit back to see the scenery. The plains of Rohan were rolling grasslands with every now and then a hill or a collection of large boulders. Far in the distance she could see mountains. What was most surprising to her was that it was empty. Back home you could travel only so far without spotting something human made. Here they were traveling mile after mile and she hadn't even seen a house. She decided that she like the country this way, untainted and clean.

They stopped shortly before midnight in a small open place on a hill that was surrounded by a few large boulders so that they would be shielded from the wind. Aragorn started to collect wood to start a small fire so that they could heat some water. When he returned he build a small pit for his fire and pulled out what seemed to Ginny a muggle fire making tool. She stopped him before he could go through the trouble of making a fire muggle style.

"Let me." she whispered to him and pointed her wand towards the dry wood. "incendio." She muttered and a small spark left her wand, igniting the dry wood immediately. She looked at it with a smile. The energy of this earth wasn't altering her simplest of spell and their moderations. If anything her magic started to feel stronger and more controllable.

The four inhabitants of Middle Earth looked at her in surprise. All mouth a bit open and eyes wide. She hadn't thought about their reactions to her strange magic. She just did it. Used it whenever needed. It was just as much a part of her than her flaming red hair and famous temper.

When after a few minutes the men were still gaping at her and she got irritated. "What?" she asked. It seemed to snap the men out of it.

"It's nothing, milady. We are just surprised by your abilities." Aragorn quickly apologized. Ginny smiled at him and nodded.

"Thank you, I only wanted to help you."

Aragorn smiled carefully at her. She could see in his eyes that he was slightly scared by her. The other two had the same look in their eyes. She wasn't sure if it was fear or distrust. She only hoped that soon they would realize that she was on the good side. What ever that was in this earth.

After a short explanation from Gandalf about Ginny's magic they all relaxed and sat down around the fire as well. Legolas handed her a piece of lembas but she refused. She wasn't hungry and she still had an apple with her.

"You really should eat more." Gandalf muttered to her.

"I'm not hungry." She shrugged.

Gandalf didn't argue with her and let her eat her apple in silence. The others talked a bit about their travels on Gandalf's request. They retold the story of the Uruks attack and how one of their companions died. Ginny didn't really listened to them. She felt no need for more deadly and bloody stories in her life. She leaned back and looked up at the sky. The stars were so bright, much more bright than on earth.

With a tearing pain she remembered the nights she spend with Harry out by the lake. They had been stargazing regularly. Just to enjoy the peace and silence of it all. It had been a magical time in her fifth year. Harry had made her feel loved and adored. He told her stories about his life under the bright stars. He would share his deepest feeling with her. She had been so sure that she and Harry would get married and have a bless life together during those moments.

After Dumbledore died she realized that death was always lurking, even for the most powerful. She saw her idea of a future life crumble as Harry left and when the battle started she felt it deep with in her soul that Harry wouldn't survive. She hoped and prayed for another outcome but somehow she had known.

"Lady Ginevra!" somebody called her. She shook her head slightly to clear it and looked up at the elf standing in front of her.

"Sorry, I was lost in my memories." She whispered.

"I offered you my sleeping pack." Legolas said with a smile. He held out a thick mat and a blanket.

"What about you?" she asked.

"I'll sleep on the floor."

"Thank you but that won't be necessary." She said with a thankful smile. She glanced around for a leaf or a piece of fabric but she didn't find one. "Perhaps you have a small cloth for me."

The elf looked confused at her but after a second he walked back to his traveling pack and pulled something out.

"I don't see why this would help you sleep milady but as you wish." He held out something that looked like a bandage. She took it and flipped it over in her hand. It was strong enough to make a fine blanket. She took her wand and looked up at the elf. He was watching her intently. His sea colored eyes fixed on her. She smiled at him before returning her attention to the small cloth. With a soft whisper the cloth turned into a thick woolen blanket that was big enough to wrap two people.

"I guess I overdid that." Ginny murmured as she inspected the blanket.

"How?" The elf asked in shock.

Ginny looked up at the shocked elf and chuckled. He was even more shocked than Gandalf had been.

"As Gandalf says my magic is not the same as his." Ginny said softly. "I guess things I can do will always be a surprise to you all."

She watched as Legolas struggled with her words. It took him a while before he really understood her.

"I think we might see great but strange things from you, milady."

"Perhaps." Ginny nodded. "And please, it's Ginny. No Ginevra, no milady, just Ginny."

"I'll try." He said with a bow and returned to his place around the fire.

Wrapped up in her blanket Ginny realized that she was really tired. Three nights of not sleeping much and the aching of the healing cuts and bruises from the battle were starting to get to her. Yet she felt little hope that she would have a peaceful night. She felt restless and though she had a lot of new things to think about, her mind still seemed to be processing the battle at Hogwarts. She placed herself against the boulder with her face turned away from the fire. She carefully wrapped herself with the blanket and shut her eyes.

She really tried so hard to fall asleep but closing her eyes meant opening her mind to the horrid images of the last battle. Especially the eyes of the dead. She saw them all staring into nothingness.

"_Neville? Neville! Please don't be dead!" She screamed. She had wandered through a destroyed hall looking for Harry, Hermione and Ron. She had recognized Neville amongst the bodies. Her friend, her shoulder to cry on for the last year, her supporter in the D.A. was now dead. "Oh Merlin no." she whimpered, tears started to stream. _

_A loud blast drew her attention away from her grief. She got up and ran towards the sound, somebody was screaming like he or she was in great pain. She ran around the corner and found Death Eaters blocking her path. They were torturing one of the teachers. She didn't think twice, she raised her wand and shouted, "Sectumsempra!" To her absolute horror one of the Death Eaters grumbled and blood spurted from his throat and stomach, he died a second later. She had killed._

_The feeling of killing somebody ripped through her. She didn't do it for pleasure but she some how felt satisfied. And that made her really sick. She was a murderer. She wasn't better than the Death Eaters._

_Much chance to think on it she didn't get, the other Death Eater attacked her only seconds after. Harry had been just in time to shield her from the deathly curse._

"_Neville is dead, Harry." She had muttered when the other Death Eater was dealt with. "Neville got killed. Please end this, Harry, please make it all stop." Her tears had flowed freely._

Ginny never noticed that she had slipped from a memory into a dream. Though it didn't make much difference, she continued crying even in her sleep.

L&G&L&G&L&G&L&G

The men around the campfire were looking at her sleeping form. The small bundle wrapped up in a thick blanket. They all could see her body shaking slightly. All four were worried and Legolas got up to check on her.

"Let her be, Legolas." Gandalf whispered.

"What? She is in pain. Can't you feel it? She needs help." The elf protested. He felt her pain seeping from her. It was one of their many gifts of the elves. They had always been more sensitive to emotions of others but this pain was so strong that even a thickheaded dwarf could feel it.

"It's heartbreaking to hear her like this, Gandalf." Aragorn said as he glanced worriedly to the red headed girl.

"I know, Aragorn, I know. Three nights she has been with me. Three nights she has been crying. She even screams in her dream. Sometimes I hear her plead with somebody. I know it's heartbreaking but she doesn't seem to be able to talk about her pain."

The others looked at the young woman again.

"How did she come to be your friend? Where does she come from?" Aragorn asked the wizard.

"What happened to her?" Gimli asked.

"How did she come to be in so much pain?" Legolas pressed. He winched slightly as Ginny whimpered a bit more loudly.

Gandalf sighed and closed his eyes. He knew he had to tell his companions at some point the true story about Ginevra but he wasn't sure how to explain them things he didn't even understood. Also he wasn't sure if he should tell them without Ginevra there but he valued the truth above all so he sighed again and looked at his friends.

"Ginevra isn't from Middle Earth. She is from a world very different than ours. Somehow, by means unknown to me, she ended up in Middle Earth." Gandalf started, all three men looked severely shocked but didn't speak so he continued. "Three days ago, late in the night I saw her running through Fangorn forest. It was like she was running away from some enemy. I wasn't sure if she wasn't an enemy so I kept my distance. As you have seen she is very powerful. I know all three of you feel her magic flowing from her. I was so intrigued by her that I followed her. After few minutes she stumbled and remained on the floor like a broken body. She was covered with wounds and bruises. When she woke up she was begging me to kill her. She so deeply wants to die. If you watch her closely you can see it in her eyes."

Aragorn and Legolas looked almost sick but Gandalf pressed on.

"She really begged but I couldn't give her that, I would never do that, instead I healed most of her wounds and talked to her a little. I told her everything about Middle Earth. When I told her about Sauron and the coming war she said she didn't want to fight a war again."

"Again?" Gimli asked. "She's a young girl, a woman! Why would she have fought in a war before? That is no place for a woman." The others nodded in agreement.

"Here on Middle Earth and with human women, yes. I would agree but the two things you all saw her do with her magic were just simple things. She does those things easily. Childs play compared to what she can really do with her small staff. She gave me a short demonstration yesterday, even the small things she showed me were more than I could ever do."

"But fighting in a war…" Legolas whispered.

"She doesn't tell much about what happened to her but from what I understand in her world a magical war was fought. It must have been terrible to haunt her so badly and I think she has lost a lot of important people in her life but she fought in it. As young as she might be, she has already seen a lot of the horrors a war can create."

"Still, she can't fight here." Gimli muttered. "If such a young lass has seen so much of war already we should make sure she stays out of this one, it wouldn't be fair to her."

"I'm afraid that we don't have a choice in that. We can't send her somewhere safe, no place will truly be safe and we can't let her go alone. If Sauron or Saruman find out about her existence… I don't want to imagine how hunted she will be."

To that the others agreed.

"I wanted to ask you, Aragorn and you, Legolas to find a bit of time to teach her how to wield a sword and bow. I think she'll be a quick learner and though I'm sure she can protect herself with her magic, she might come into situations where she will need to use a sword or bow."

Aragorn nodded, he wasn't happy about it but Gandalf had a point.

L&G&L&G&L&G&L&G&L

Legolas looked at the shaking form of the girl again. She looked so fragile, so broken. Rolled up in her blanket, he couldn't imagine her fighting a battle. Deep down he knew that one day she would have to fight again. As long as Sauron survived the young woman would never be safe.

He shuddered as another whimper escaped the young woman. She was in so much pain. He had only once felt it before and that was when Lord Elrond's wife decided to sail for Valinor. The pain Lord Elrond had felt as he waved his wife goodbye had been as deep and rough as the pain coming from the red head. It was so deep that Legolas wondered if even after she dealt with the grief and time healed her wounds Ginny would ever truly be happy again. He shook his head. Not even seventeen summers old and already doomed, he couldn't believe that. He wouldn't believe that.

Yet, he knew that the only way Ginny could have a chance on a happy life was to destroy Sauron. Gandalf had been so right. Ginny would never be free nor happy if darkness lingered in Middle earth.

He had joined the fellowship with his homeland in mind. He would do anything to see the glory of the woodland realm restored. He longed for the peace to return there. Also he had imagined that would they succeed there would be a future for him and his people. Maybe even an elleth and an elfling if the Valar had plans like that for him.

Yet, now his motives were changing. He would still do anything for his people but after feeling so much pain in such a young woman. He felt he would fight to ensure a world in which her pain could lessen and maybe someday go away.

With this feeling in his heart he promised to himself that he would do anything to keep her save from Saruman and Sauron. He would fight to protect her from all that could haunt her in Middle Earth so that one day she could be happy again.

It was irrational and illogical but he followed his heart.

Soon after Gandalf's story the others decided it was time to get some well-earned rest. Though he was tired from the days of running after the Uruks, he couldn't find rest. The soft crying woman kept him awake. After an hour of trying to ignore it he got up and walked towards the young red head.

He looked down at her sleeping face. It was barely visible. Almost completely hidden by the blanket and the thick red hair. He had never seen hair like fire before. It was curly, thick and strong. He found it beautiful.

Her face was contorted with pain and she was still shaking slightly. He heard her softly moaning in her sleep. She was begging for something. The sound cut through him like a hot knife. He couldn't take it anymore.

He kneeled down next to her and placed one of his hands on her back. He was careful not to wake her. Softly he started to sing a calming song in elfish. A song his mother sang to him when he was just a young boy.

He concentrated on soothing her pain and calming her slightly. For as long as he sang it seemed to work but after a while he grew really tired. They had run for many days without any rest. Even for an elf it was hard to keep that up. With a sad look he got up and walked back to his sleeping place. As soon as his song stopped her whimpering returned. The pain this girl was suffering was rooted soul deep. It would take a lot of time for her to heal from it.

_**Elbereth, please help your daughter. She is in need of healing**__,_ Legolas thought as he stared up to the stars.


	8. Testing Magic

**Alright, next update. I had this chapter ready for a while but couldn't post it because of laptop issues.**

**_Remember:_**

_Italic: _memories or thoughts.

**bold:** elvish.

**_Italic and bold:_**Thoughts in elvish.

_**Please review...!**_

* * *

With a jolt she sat up, the last thing she remembered of her dream was her family. Her father and mother calling for her, begging her to come to them but they were dead. Their bodies were laying in pieces on the floor in front of her. How she wished she could join them. She pointed her wand at herself and tried to summon the hatred she needed to make the killing curse work. From a distance she heard herself say the words. "Avada kedavra"

She snapped her eyes open in panic and looked around her. It took a moment to remember that she was still very much life and in another world. She sat up with her back against the boulder. The thick blanket still wrapped around her to shield her from the cold.

She thought about her dream for a while. It was so alluring to just die, it wouldn't be too hard to kill herself but something was stopping her. Even in her dreams she woke up before she could die.

It felt very surreal just five days ago when she got her last sleep back at Hogwarts, she had dreamed about emerald eyed, red haired kids running around her and now she dreamed about dying. She dreamed about killing herself. She wondered if she would dream about something else ever again.

Shaking herself out of it again she looked around, it was still dark. Gandalf was sitting on one of the boulders, smoking his pipe. He was staring to the east. She turned to look at the east as well, wondering what he was staring at so intensely. She could see the sun was about to rise but dark clouds prevented it to shine brightly. The clouds looked unnatural to her.

"Mordor?" She asked as she silently got up and walked towards the wizard.

"Hmmm, Sauron is moving, he is gathering forces. His war will come swiftly." Gandalf muttered. He looked up at her with pleading eyes. "Believe me, I don't want you to be a part of this war, I really don't…"

"but it will happened anyway." Ginny finished for him. She knew this. It was a fact, one that she couldn't change. She felt as elated as she felt depressed by that notion. A war, it was a good chance that she would get herself killed in it, thus rejoining her family. Right now her heart wanted it above all but she knew that she would never let herself willingly be killed, something in her wanted to survive. She just wasn't ready for an other round of war horrors.

"Yes." Gandalf nodded.

Ginny looked out at Mordor. It looked like a sore on the face of the earth. It was dark, unnatural and dangerous.

"How powerful is he?" She asked.

"Very. The ring he has created can turn even the purest of elves into darkness. Even I don't dare to touch it."

She nodded and continued to stare at the darkness. There was a being, a monster, a mere heartless creature, ruining the life of so much goodness. The fact that five very different races of creatures felt the need to make alliances to destroy it to ensure their future was all telling. The dark lord of middle earth was as dark or even darker than the dark lord back home. As she remembered the last two years of her live she couldn't even start to imagine what it would be like to live under Sauron's rule.

The fact that Sauron was to be claimed more powerful than a wizard like Gandalf scared her slightly. If she wanted it or not she was now a part of this world and she couldn't face the darkness she had endures the last two years ever again. The idea made her survival instinct kick in. She felt a compelling need to prepare for something unknown. Like Harry had said, _how can we fight if we aren't prepared?_ He started almost every D.A. meeting with it. It was to rally the group up. To get them too work. She could almost hear him yell at her to be prepared. It hurt but she wouldn't defy him.

"I still don't know what kind of magic I can do here. Most spell seem to work the same but I need to try." She murmured. "Is it safe here?" She asked.

"To do your magic?"

Ginny nodded.

"Nowhere is safe, Ginevra but if you feel the need to practice you should do it. Just don't draw too much magic from the earth, it might draw unwanted attention."

Ginny nodded and walked away from the hilltop, just far enough that the others wouldn't wake by the sounds she made. On her way she picked up a thick wooden stick and a fairly large rock, they would be her practicing targets.

She checked if she was out of view from Gandalf and the others. Once satisfied that she could train without being disturbed she laid the rock and stick down in front of her.

"Engorgio." She muttered twice and the stick and rock grew three times their original size. Pleased that the spell worked the same she set off with a set of simple spells, levitating, summoning and banishing. They all worked properly and with her own magic. It felt more natural here. Like she could do anything she wanted to do as long as she knew the words and wand movement. Core power didn't seem to be an issue anymore. She knew that would she draw strength from this with magic invested earth she would produce much stronger or complicated spells.

She turned to the large rock and attacked it with her famous bat-bogey hex. She smiled when that turned out to be even stronger than it had been on earth. She pointed her wand at the wooden stick and whispered, "Confringo!" The wood was immediately engulfed in flames and seconds later there was nothing left but ash. With an even wider smile, she left herself absorb just a small bit of the magic of Middle Earth and pointed her wand at the rock, "Expulso." Though she had said it in a small whisper, the rock exploded with a loud bang and shard flew everywhere. She had only a second to pull up a shield but her reflexes were still sharp and the chards flew past her.

"Perfect." She whispered to herself with a smile. Only to feel gutted the next moment. She wished Harry was here with her. Maybe if he had fought Voldemort in such a magic invested world he would have survived. Before the grief and useless wishing took her over she shook her head. Voldemort had been a very clever wizard, he would have known how to use the extra power as well. Harry might have been dead the first time.

Thinking about Harry made her wonder about dueling and the spells he taught them to duel with. Would she be able to disarm an enemy if he only had a sword? It worked on wands and she was fairly sure that, that included a wizard's staff as well but a muggle weapon? Swords were made of steel and were reflective. Spells could easily bounce of the reflective surface. Not to mention enemies with heavy armor. Like Gimli's full body armor. Steel had been an issue back in her world, the only reason wizards and witches didn't wear it in duels were because they made any movement difficult and ever armor had weak points. Points where spells could easily penetrate.

As she mulled this over she walked back to the campsite. When she got there the others were slowly waking up. Quietly stepping around the men she walked towards Gandalf.

"Could you offer me some assistance?" She asked carefully.

"Certainly, with what do you need help, my dear?" Gandalf said with a soft smile.

"I want to know if my disarming spell works on muggle weapons and if reflective material like armor will be an issue with my spells but I need an opponent to try that." Gandalf looked confused and a bit apprehensive at her. "It won't be dangerous, I'll keep it simple and I'll be careful. The only thing that should happen is that a sword will be snapped out of your hands. It works on magical weapons but swords are muggle made. I'm just not sure about these non magical weapons."

Gandalf nodded and was about to get up when Aragorn spoke.

"I will help you, lady Ginevra. I'm stronger and more trained in wielding a sword."

"I don't think that will make a difference but if you insist." Ginny shrugged. Gandalf nodded at her and followed her and Aragorn down from the hill back to where she had been practicing before.

"What do you want me to do?" Aragorn asked her as she turned around to face him. She took a good look at the man. He was wearing no reflective armor so maybe she would have to ask Gimli for help later.

Aragorn looked eager to help and see what her magic could do. She sighed. She was going against everything that she was taught. Never show your power unless you really needed too and she was about to do it to a muggle non-the less. _Lucky they don't have Fudge at the helm here_.

"I want to start easy. Just raise your sword as if you were to strike but do not move it too much." I said. Aragorn nodded and pulled out his sword, he raised it and took a firm stand on the ground.

As fast as she could she pulled her wand out of its holster and spoke a disarming spell.

"Expelliarmus!"

She didn't aim at a precise point. Just like she did with magical folk she just shot the spell at the person. The jet of light hit Aragorn but it wasn't too strong. So he kept on his feet. The sword however was pulled from him and flew through the air towards Ginny. She had to step aside not to get hit by the blade.

Aragorn and Gandalf glance at each other. Both surprised and impressed.

_Good, it works on muggle weapons_, Ginny mused as she bends to pick up the sword for Aragorn.

"That was impressive, milady." Aragorn said with a slightly shaken voice as she handed the sword back to him.

"Nah, you weren't moving or magically defending yourself. It was an easy shot. I'm just happy the spell worked on a sword. It will make defending myself a lot easier. Can you repeat that, I want to check a theory?" She asked. Aragorn nodded and raised his sword again. This time Ginny aimed for the blade itself and as she suspected the spell bounced from the steel. It was too reflective.

"Damn!" she cursed.

"That wasn't what you hoped for?" Gandalf asked.

"No, steel is too reflective. Hexes and curses will just bounce off. It will be an issue when I'm faced with enemies in polished armor like Gimli is wearing. Spells might bounce off and hit somebody else."

"Yes, that could become an issue." Gandalf agreed.

"Do you know a way around it?" Aragorn asked.

"Well normally I just aim for the person. Not the weapon. Most armor have weak point where a spell can penetrate. So there is always a chance that the curse will hit instead of bounce off. My aim will have to be better, as precise as possible." She mused. "Or… it might be that if I use more of this earth's strong magic the spell will be too strong to bounce of the steel. The magic will overload the steel and still hit the enemy. But that's just a theory."

"Do you want to try it?" Gandalf asked.

"I'm not sure." She had seen Harry's very strong disarming spells hit Death Eaters. They were always blasted away.

"You should try it. You need to know how to defend yourself." Aragorn pressed.

"I don't want to hurt you." She said as she shook her head.

Aragorn swallowed, his fear for her strong magic was clear. Ginny could see the battle in his mind between his fear and his need to protect everybody. The latter won.

"I'm a strong man, milady, I think I can withstand a blow."

Ginny looked at him skeptically but he seemed convinced of his own words. So she nodded and walked away from him. She turned to face him again and raised her wand. This time she opened herself up to the power of the earth. She took a little from it's strength, just enough to feel a little stronger. Again she waved her wand and spoke the disarming spell.

It hit Aragorn's sword with brute force but it didn't bounce off it. Instead the blade absorbed the blow and exploded from Aragorn's grasp. It came flying towards her, while Aragorn flew backwards and landed a good thirty feet away.

She grabbed the sword and ran towards Aragorn.

"I'm really sorry." She said as Aragorn got up.

"It doesn't matter, you did warn me. Besides I offered you to try it on me."

Ginny nodded and handed him back his sword.

"I know but that didn't mean I wanted to hurt you." She argued.

"Did you get the result you wanted?" He asked when he brushed off his clothes.

"Yes, the energy of this earth will help me against the armor. Also normally a disarming spell is shot straight at the body of your opponent and it will work. So as long as I am able to hit flesh, a weak point in the armor or use the extra energy it will be okay."

Gandalf called her training to a stop shortly after that. She had given disarming Aragorn while he was moving a few tries. Always trying to keep the power as low as possible. She didn't want him flying again.

A few times she aimed for the blade. Just to see if moving around made a difference but sadly it didn't. It annoyed her greatly that her spells seemed to be bouncing off the blade easily. Due to her perfected Quidditch aim it only needed a few tries to find the right spot to hit the sword. The weak spot for spells was the top of the handle just above the hands. She knew that in a large battle it would be useless, the aiming took too much time but in a one on one duel it could be useful. In a full battle she would go back to more powerful spells and full body hits.

When they walked back up to the hilltop Gandalf informed them that if Gimli was awake it was time to move on. Her early morning session had given her lot to think off while they rode across the country.

It was a bit of a shock for her to realize that steel armor could be an issue when it came to the more complex curses and hexes. The feeling of safety left her. She had thought that she would be safe and able to defend herself but if all her enemies wore armor like Gimli's than it would became nearly impossible to throw curses around without endangering herself and others on the good side. She was in dire need of target practice and she really needed to learn how to wield a sword of bow.

"Aragorn?" She said softly as they raced across the field.

"Yes, milady."

"Please, stop that milady thing, it's Ginny." She muttered annoyed. She heard him chuckle and she realized that the man had learned much from Gandalf, maybe a bit too much. "Could you please learn me some things with a sword so that I at least can defend myself in physical battle?"

"Of course, milady." Aragorn said with a chuckle.

"You know, I could just curse you. You are completely defenseless with your back toward me." Ginny muttered darkly.

"You wouldn't." Aragorn laughed.

"Care to explain why not?" she threatened.

"You wouldn't hurt me, I'm a friend of Gandalf and you wouldn't do that to a friend of Gandalf." Aragorn said, he sounded convinced and he was right of course but not all magic was to hurt.

"I know ways to use magic without hurting you and still get things my way." She told him. He glanced over his shoulder at her with a mock smile. She felt something stir inside her, humor, a laugh, something close to joy. She was enjoying mocking this man. She was actually enjoying herself.

_How could she_!

All the sudden she felt so bad, so broken. She kept up the pretenses long enough for Aragorn to turn again without noticing the pain that slammed through her. She couldn't believe that she was enjoying herself when just a few days ago she had witnessed a massacre. She had seen friends and family being murdered, tortured and their screams still echoed in her ears. Yet, here she was, in a new strange world, with new strange friends, enjoying mocking them. It felt like she was betraying her dead friends.

They made another stop for the night. Again she didn't eat anything. She was still feeling sick with guilt about the sudden joy she had felt when mocking Aragorn. In a bad mood she grabbed her blanket from the saddle and she sat herself away from the group. Her back against a hard rock. She covered her whole body with the blanket leaving only her head out for air. With her knees pulled up to her chest and her chin on her knees she stared into the fire.

She felt emotional drained. Her head was pounding and her eyes watery. She wanted to scream, to cry or maybe even just talk but she couldn't. Screaming would endanger her new friends. Crying wasn't the release she needed. She was crying now and still it felt like she was ready to explode. Talking was even less of a possibility. She couldn't even start to think about what happened, to retell her tales and face the demons that haunted her was surely going to kill her. Besides they wouldn't understand. They had never fought a magical battle. She was sure they had never seen a person laughing like a madman as he tortured a fourteen year old girl till her throat bled from the screaming. They had never seen the green beam of light taking away the life in their best friend. No, they wouldn't understand. Never before had she felt so alone.

Deep in her heart she knew that she should be happy. She knew that Harry and her family had sacrificed themselves to ensure a happy future for all witches and wizards. But how could she be happy without her family, without Harry? How could she be happy when she never got the chance to say goodbye or to tell them how much she loved them?

The others went about their business and prepared for a good nights sleep. She heard them talk and she realized that Legolas had offered to take the night watch. Somewhere she felt that she should offer as well, she wouldn't sleep anyway but she felt lethargic and so tired.

She closed her eyes and pressed them against her knees. Trying to block out everything. She never noticed the worried glances the elf was giving her.


	9. Words with an elf

_**A new update. a step towards what can be... PLEASE REVIEW!**_

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**9. Words with an elf.**

The whole day Legolas had been very aware of the lady in their presence. Every time he really looked around he saw the flaming red hair and the pale freckled friendly face. He had also seen her pain when she had been mocking with Aragorn. Once the man had looked away Legolas had seen her face contort. Her almost sick complexion return and he had heard her breath turning to gasps. He had also noticed how she had separated herself from the group and how she had cried softly as she had stared into the fire.

He wanted to help her, he wanted to take her pain away but she was so closed off. She hadn't spoken to him or Gimli besides a kind 'thank you' when they offered her something. She replied to simple questions but most of the times she had been too lost in her thoughts that she didn't even heard the questions. How could he help her when he didn't really know the cause of so much pain?

Once the others were sleeping he decided that the least he could do was to give it a try. He wanted to see if he could help. It felt like a compulsion to him. It was like as long she was hurt he would hurt as well. He walked over to her secluded spot and sat down next to her.

"Do you want to talk about it?" he asked her softly. Her head came up from her knees and she met his eyes. They were red and teary. She just shook her head.

"Can't." she croaked. Legolas smiled at her and nodded.

"I understand. I'm sure Gandalf has already told you this but you really should talk about it some time. It will ruin you from the inside if you don't."

He could see something in his words had sparked a fire in her. She eyes lit up, perhaps in anger. He saw a flame returning in them. She shook her head at him.

"I don't care, not really. I have nothing left to live for anyway. It doesn't matter if I died because of it." She muttered darkly.

Her words were a shock to him. He had never had to deal with somebody suicidal before. Elves had a natural drive to live and though they lived forever they valued life above all things. It was very rare these days that elflings were born and therefore every life was special.

"Aren't you happy just to be alive?" he asked her.

"Don't know." She shrugged.

"I don't understand." He admitted.

She turned to him to meet his eyes once more. Her face was dead, almost empty of any emotion. Her dark brown eyes held a certain desperation but there wasn't any desire in them. It scared him a bit.

"Have you ever fought a war, Legolas?" she asked.

"Many." He admitted.

"So you know what you can loose in a war?"

"I know. I have lost many that I counted as my friends."

"Did it hurt?" she asked, her voice was turning icy cold. He managed to not flinch away from her.

"A lot. To an elf all life is very precious. We live forever but there are so few of us, to lose somebody is devastating but we all know we will see them again when it's our time to cross the sea or die in war."

"Than you can imagine how it would feel to lose everybody. Your mother, father, brothers, your closest friend and the one you love above all in one night due to a war that was based on one man's greed. Perhaps you can imagine why I don't care if I die. Why I want to die so I can be with them again." She snapped at him.

Legolas felt her desperation, anger and grief flow from her. It was strong and very deep. He could understand, now that he knew what was hurting her so much, he really could understand. He had never really loved another elf like a lover should but if he had and he would lose that person, he would go to the halls of Mandos or sail to Valinor as soon as possible. He would want to find a way to be with that person again.

But to be so young as she and already wanted to give up on life. Give up all the things she still could do and see. All the wonders that were still awaiting her…

Next to him Ginny started to cry again, her words had hurt her as well. Saying it out loud made it so final. The truth of them rang in the air. She had lost everything, everybody. She couldn't even care if she had been too hard on the friendly elf. She couldn't even care if she had insulted him, all she wanted was to cry and cry for days hoping that her tears would make everything alright again.

After a while Legolas got up to do his round to make sure no enemy was sneaking up on them. He was about to walk away but he turned back to her.

"I don't know if it will help but I don't think your parents and lover would want you to give up. I'm sure that they wanted you to live and try to be happy. I know I would if it was my child in your place."

With that he left to do his round. Ginny looked after him. She wanted to shout at him, scream at him that he didn't know what he was talking about but his words hit some sort of target inside her. It pulled back up memories of the endless nights she spend talking with Harry in her fifth year at Hogwarts.

"_Something will happen." Harry said to her. They sat in front of the fire in an empty common room._

"_You mean like he will attack or something?" She asked. Her head lay in his lap and she looked up straight into emerald pools._

"_Maybe… I don't know, at one point he will want to take full power, here and at the ministry. When that happens everybody will be in danger."_

"_Dumbledore will be able to prevent any harm to us." She said with conviction._

"_I don't know, Gin. Dumbledore can't be everywhere all at once. There might come a moment when he isn't around that Voldemort decides to attack."_

"_You know many will fight with you, for you and Dumbledore."_

"_Yeah, that's what I'm worried about. I have already lost Sirius and my parents. I don't want to loose anymore friends."_

"_I don't want to loose you, either. So don't go about being a hero and sacrifice yourself for us. We'll fight through whatever is to come together."_

"_Of course." Harry had nodded but Ginny could see he wasn't completely honest with her. She knew that he would sacrifice himself for any of them. If it would mean the end of the war, he would do it. She just knew him too well. "Gin?" He suddenly asked._

"_Yes, Harry."_

"_If I die…"_

"_You better not!"_

"_I promise you, I'll do my best not to get killed but if it happens, will you promise me one thing?"_

"_That depends on what you want."_

_Harry sat up right and lifted her up so that she would face him._

"_Will you promise me to try and be happy? Will you promise me that what ever happen, if you survive and I not that you will live your life in happiness?"_

"_I don't know if I can, Harry. I don't know what to do if I would lose you."_

"_You are so strong, Ginny, so much more stronger than anyone I know. You can make it. You can create your own happiness." Harry said passionately._

"_Harry, if I lose you, why would I want to live my life. I don't have anything to live for with out you."_

"_You have me to live for! You have to live as happy as you can just to make it up for my lost life. Please, make sure you try. I don't want you to end it yourself just to be with me. Whatever happens promise me you try to live your life. Try to find somebody you can love, have a full life, a happy old days and when it is your time to die I'll be waiting for you, as your best friend or your lover, whatever you want."_

"_I can't…"_

"_Promise me, Ginny. I need you to promise me. I need to have something to fight for."_

_She looked at him and saw his eyes pleading with her. Somehow, she realized that he didn't expected to make it out of the war alive. Perhaps if she promised him, he would fight harder._

"_I promise, Harry, but please promise me you try not to die."_

"_I promise."_

She jolted out of her memory like she woke up from a dream. She had promised Harry to try but how could she? How could she try to be happy when she had lost everything she cared for? How could she try to be happy if she landed in a world that was so strange and on the brink of a war itself?

She had promised Harry to try and though the pain if his loss was still so fresh she knew she had to keep her promise. He had kept his promise as well. He had fought so hard to survive. In the end it was just a lost battle. She was sure she could never love anyone like she had loved Harry and her family but perhaps she could try with making new friends. She had already a friend in Gandalf and maybe Aragorn as well.

Besides if she got herself killed now and met up with Harry, he would seriously be angry with her.

She looked up to see the elf sitting across the fire. He was looking at her with worried eyes. She felt sorry for snapping at him, he hadn't deserved it. The elf had only tried to help her, be kind to her and she had just snapped at him.

She got up and walked over to Legolas. His eyes followed her and his worried face turned to a soft smile. She sat down next to him and warmed her hands with the heat from the fire.

"I'm sorry, Legolas. I shouldn't have snapped at you like that." She said after a few minutes of silence.

"It's alright. I shouldn't have tried to get you to talk. We all deal with losses in our own way and time."

Ginny shook her head. "You were trying to help. Besides the fact that I always had trouble excepting help, I'm just not ready to face all my demons. Not yet."

"I understand, we all do. All of us have seen many wars and lost many we held dear. You can talk to any of us, we all will understand."

"Can you tell me about your loss?" she asked carefully.

"Of course." Legolas said with a smile, he leaned back a bit to look up at the night sky. Like he was remembering something. "A very long time ago when I was a young warrior in my dad's army. I had just been given permission to join the patrol guard at the borders of my country. I had a few very close friends that were also with me as a part of the guard. When you live at the court of a royal it isn't easy to make really close friends. Not even amongst elves. We were like brothers. Every two weeks we did a patrol with a group of twelve elves. It was dangerous along the borders. Orcs, Goblins and other dark creatures were regularly causing trouble in my country." He explained calmly. "One day we were attacked by a huge band of orcs. Just as we passed through a narrow mountain pass that leads to the plains where the Orcs usually stayed before an attack, they attacked us. They came from both sides. We were trapped and severely outnumbered. Twelve of us against at least a hundredth orcs. We fought as hard as we could to find a way out of the pass. After a long fight I managed to break through the ranks of the Orcs. I fought to keep the gap I created open so the others could follow me but they were blocked. I left to sound the alarm in the hope the others would continue to fight but by the time the other guards arrived more than half of the guard was killed. Including my three best friends. From the twelve only four survived the attack. My best friend, an elf I had known since I was just two years old was dead. His throat cut. I never forget how he looked, so cold, so empty."

"That sounds horrible." Ginny whispered in horror.

"It was." Legolas nodded. "Not only did I loose friends I had known for at least a thousand years. My people lost many good young healthy men. A loss that no elfin society can deal with easily. You see, the birth of an elfling is a rare thing. You would be blessed to see one or two births in a decade. Loosing so many young people was a blow."

"How did you cope with the loss of your friends?"

"I felt guilty at first. I managed to convince myself that I should have stayed at their side, instead of trying to make an escape route or call for backup. I was convinced that I could have saved their lives if I had stayed. My father noticed my guilt. We elves are in general very sensitive to the emotions of others and so he felt what I was feeling. He came to me and told me about his own losses and how he learned to realize that he couldn't take the blame for everything. He said to me, '_you try to do your best, that's all you can do_.' It didn't make things right immediately but as time passed I began to realize that he was right. It took me a long time to learn to give their death a place but talking about it with people who had lost loved ones as well helped al lot."

Ginny nodded, she knew to what he was hinting but she couldn't, not yet.

"I can't, not yet. It only happened a few days ago."

"Nobody is pressuring you to talk. Just remember we all, Gandalf, Aragorn, Gimli and me have lost people we cared about due to battle. We understand what you are going through."

Ginny nodded and sighed softly. "Thank you, Legolas."

"You are welcome." He said with a smile. "You should try to get some sleep. It's still a few hours before sunrise. Tomorrow we will reach Edoras. I don't know how much rest we will get there."

"I don't think I can't sleep. I see things I don't want to see when I close my eyes." Ginny said.

Legolas smiled at her with sympathy. "Why don't you grab your blanket and come sit with me, I'll sing you to sleep."

"Sing me to sleep?" she asked surprised.

"Yeah, it seemed to help you last night when I sang to you." The elf shrugged.

"You sang to me?" Ginny gasped.

"Yes, we elves have magic of our own. My mother taught me many songs that soothed the mind and healed the heart. She use to sing for me when I was an elfling."

Ginny looked at him for a few minutes, she felt completely dazed. Never before had anyone offered to sing her to sleep. Not even her mother. She always gave her a dreamless sleep potion after nightmares. Yet, this stranger, an elf offered to help her by singing for her.

"Go on, get your blanket." Legolas said again.

She chuckled and pulled out her wand and summoned the blanket to her.

"Useful, that magic of yours." Legolas said as he watched her catch the blanket from the air. His off handed but very in awe comment made Ginny chuckle a bit more. "Now make yourself comfortable."

Ginny did as he said and she curled up like a cat in front of the fire. Her head close to Legolas. She closed her eyes and flinched. The images of dead eyes immediately returned.

"Try to relax your breathing. There is nothing here that will harm you. Not as long we are with you."

Ginny tried to take deeper breaths. It did work slightly, at least the muscles in her back relaxed a bit. After a few deep breaths Legolas started to sing. Ginny's mouth popped open in awe. His voice was so soft, so soothing and though she didn't understood the words he was singing it calmed her. She didn't even have it in her to fight the fatigue that was taking hold of her. She felt his song spread through her like a potion and she gave in.

Legolas smiled at the woman next to him while he continued to sing softly for her. She had fallen asleep an hour ago and seemed to be sleeping calmly and without nightmares. He was so absorbed in his song and Ginny's presence that he never noticed that his long time friend was awake and watching them.

Aragorn smiled to himself, his close friend for many years was singing to a woman. He knew Legolas wouldn't see it that way. Not now but Aragorn had a feeling about where this was heading and he couldn't be more happy about it.


	10. Edoras

_**Dear readers, i'm sorry it took a while to update. As I have said on my profile. I have been really sick. I even spend a week in the hospital. I'm home now and slowly recovering. While in the hospitals and recovering I haven't been able to write or edit. I just couldn't focus on a computer. **_

_**I have started writing again this week. So I haven't much ready. This chapter was ready so I only needed to edit a few bits. I hope you all like it and let me know what you think of the Ginny Legolas build up... **_

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**10. Edoras**.

When the sun appeared in the eastern sky Legolas softly woke her. Thanks to him Ginny had been able to sleep without facing her demons again and again. She was very thankful to him but felt a bit awkward about it all. Almost like she was ashamed of what had happened during the night. Legolas just smiled at her and said he was happy that it helped when she thanked him.

"We'll reach Edoras by midday." Gandalf told the group during breakfast. Ginny nodded and turned the blanket to its original state and handed it back to Legolas.

"Here." The elf said. "This is my spare cloak. You should wear it."

"Thanks but I'm not cold."

"It's not for the cold. You won't stand out as much if you wear it." Legolas explained as he handed her the dark brown cloak.

"Oh, thanks." She took it and held it up. It was too long for her, so she took a second to shrink it to a better size. "I'll change it back to normal when you need it." She told Legolas as he was still looking at her.

"Ginevra?" Gandalf called her. She walked over to him and waited expectantly. "King Théoden is being controlled by an other wizard, Saruman. Remember I told you abouthim?" Ginny nodded. "Though I'm sure he is not there in person, he will be able to see and I'm very sure he has a spy there. I want you to stay out of sight. Stay in the shadows. For your own safety. Right now, Saruman is your greatest enemy. If he finds out about your existence he'll inform Sauron and they will hunt you. Whatever happens at Edoras, please stay out of it until Théoden is rid of Saruman and the spy is dealt with. Don't show them anything of your magic."

Ginny nodded. She knew Gandalf only wanted to keep her safe. So she accepted his warning without questioning. She had learned the hard way that sometimes you just have to listen to people and not question everything.

"One other thing…" Gandalf said with a slight hesitation.

"Yes?"

"People less educated and well traveled will fear you. It's a natural reaction to a woman with great power. You should not fear King Théoden, his family or his household. They are all well known to power and those who wield it. But the people living in the village might reacted hostile to you."

"Why do they fear a woman with power but not a man?"

"Oh they do fear the powerful man as well. But a witch is greatly feared. They are supposed to be of legend and horrible at that. They don't have stories about something good came from meeting a witch."

"Nice." She hissed.

"Think of it this way. You don't have to worry about them bothering you and if you do something good they will honor you for the rest of eternity. You can change people's view." Aragorn said with a smile. She was sure he meant to be helpful but it didn't feel like that. Edoras all the sudden seemed like a massive mountain to climb. Her Gryffindor courage was wavering.

The trip to Edoras took them the better part of the day. Ginny felt she was getting used to the horse riding thing and decided to give it a try herself someday soon. Suddenly Gandalf called them to a halt.

"Edoras and the Golden Hall of Meduseld. There dwells Théoden, King of Rohan..." Gandalf said out loud. Ginny looked at the town, it was very small, it was build on a hill and looked like how an medieval town in her world would have looked like. "whose mind is overthrown. Saruman's hold over King Théoden is now very strong." Gandalf continued. "Be careful what you say. Do not look for welcome here and Ginevra, please keep your identity hidden."

They all nodded and Ginny pulled the hood of the cloak over her head so that it rested just above her brow. Her bright red hair was hidden and her face in the shade. Though, she couldn't do much about her female figure.

They raced towards the town. Ginny glanced around Aragorn to get a better view of the city. Up where a large, elaborately decorated church like building stood she saw a woman. The woman was completely dressed in white. Even from the great distance Ginny could see that the woman was fair skinned and had long wavy blond hair.

Her attention was drawn away from the strange beautiful woman when they approached the gate. The horse got slightly spooked by a banner that lay on the ground and she hold on tightly to Aragorn as he led the horse around it.

The village was dead. She couldn't describe it any other way. Everybody was wearing black, all faces looked sad and serious. Most people looked in a bad shape. It was clear they hadn't had good food in a long time. There were no kids out playing. No talking and all eyes followed them.

"You'd find more cheer in a graveyard." Gimli muttered and Ginny couldn't help but agree.

They made their way to the stables where three men dressed in armor waited for them to take the horses. Shadowfax bristled. Ginny slid from her horse and made her way to Shadowfax.

"Shhhh, they mean you no harm." She muttered. "And if they hurt you, you come to me, I'll hurt them until they can't think straight anymore." The horse nuzzled her face and made a sound that came close to laughing.

"Come, my dear, Shadowfax will be alright." Gandalf said to Ginny. She smiled at him knowingly. She would make sure of that. Over the last two days she had come to love that horse. He at least didn't judge her, or constantly reminded her of what happened. He was just there ready to be hugged or give a horse hug to her.

When the approached the Golden Hall, guards came forward. Ginny took her wand and hid behind Gandalf and Legolas before muttering a notice-me-not spell. She wouldn't disappear but nobody would notice her if they didn't look for her. Quickly she slid her wand back into its holster.

As they reached the top of the stairs a guard approached them, Gandalf seemed to know him because he smiled friendly at the strict looking man. Ginny noticed a hint of recognition in the man's eyes but he didn't react on it.

"I cannot allow you before Théoden King so armed, Gandalf Greyhame. By order of Gríma Wormtongue." The guard said with a grimace. Ginny looked at her companions. They didn't seem happy with the idea of parting from their protection but Gandalf nodded to them and they complied.

_They can ask anything but they are not getting my wand_, Ginny thought to herself. Her holster was strapped to her lower arm. It had been a gift from Sirius for Christmas. It was covered by her shirt and cloak. If they would notice her, she would seem to be without arms. Besides her, Gandalf didn't part from his staff either.

"Your staff." The guard pressed.

"You would not part an old man from his walking stick." Gandalf said. Ginny smiled slightly at the wizards comment. He was anything but an old man, physically at least. He was as agile as she was. She swore she heard Aragorn chuckle and she saw some sort of merriment in the eyes of the guard. He didn't say anything but just nodded.

The guard let them through and to keep up the pretenses Legolas offered Gandalf an arm to support on. Slowly they made their way to the door. Before stepping into the hall Gandalf glanced at her. Like he was reminding her to stay out of view.

And she did, as soon as she was through the door she slipped to the right side and along the wall. Her spell prevented anyone from noticing her in the shadows. Slowly along the wall she followed Gandalf forward to the front of the hall.

At the other end of the hall sat an old man, dressed in clothes fit for a king, on a large throne. He looked almost dead. She wondered how much it was the curse he was under and how much it was old age of the man self. It was clear that he was under a curse. His eyes were glassy. He looked lethargic and unwilling to move. It looked very much like how people looked when placed under the Imperius curse.

She tried to remember was the fake Moody had taught them about getting rid of the Imperius curse. There wasn't much else than will power and the death of the wizard who placed the curse. She wondered what Gandalf was going to do about this curse. She surely hoped this was easier to cure than the Imperius curse.

She let her eyes wander over the other faces.

Next to him sat the little brother of Severus Snape. She was sure of it. A pale white, black greasy haired man. A snake. He wouldn't have stood out in Slytherin house. The look of the man caused her to wonder how similar this world was to hers. She had already met a man like Dumbledore. The two hobbits she had met looked just as mischievous as her twin brothers. Aragorn could be compared with Sirius and come to think of it, Gimli was in his way just as Mad-eye had been. Grumpy but good natured and maybe a bit insane.

She was sure that Sauron was very similar to Voldemort. What about the rest of the people she would meet? Would she meet a Harry like figure, or somebody like her mother?

"The courtesy of your hall is somewhat lessened of late, Théoden King." Gandalf spoke. The king said something in return but she was too far away to hear it. The snake got up and walked towards Gandalf.

Ginny didn't fail to notice that a group of men entered the hall. They didn't look too friendly.

"Late is the hour in which this conjurer chooses to appear. Láthspell I name him. Ill news is an ill guest." The snake spoke.

"Be silent." Gandalf snapped to the man, Gandalf didn't seemed faced by the grease that seemed to ooze from the man. "Keep your forked tongue behind your teeth. I have not passed through fire and death to bandy crooked words with a witless worm."

Gandalf raised his staff as if he was to strike the man with it. The snake took a few steps back in fear. Ginny couldn't help but smirk. At least he knew the power of a wizard's staff or wand in her case.

"His staff. I told you to take the wizard's staff."

Mayhem erupted in the hall. The men she had seen coming in suddenly attacked her companions. She knew she had to stay out of sight until Gandalf dealt with the other wizard but it was hard. Her companions were outnumbered and she knew her magic would prevent anyone get hurt. After just a minute she realized her worries were unnecessary. Aragorn, Gimli and Legolas were much more trained in battle and dealt with the men quickly. She was very impressed by her companions.

"Théoden, son of Thengel..." Gandalf spoke loudly, he seemed unfazed by the attacks happening around him, "...too long have you sat in the shadows."

Ginny felt the magic around her gather. Gandalf was pulling a lot of strength from the earth. She relaxed and felt for the strongest flow. She could help Gandalf by letting a bit of her magic flow through that energy flow. It would never worked on Earth but she knew the theories that wizards had studied and how they thought it should work. On this Middle Earth, Ginny was sure it should work. The flows were much stronger here.

"Hearken to me!" Gandalf called the attention to him. "I release you from the spell."

Ginny crept closer to the king, channeling more of her magic towards the wizard. It was exhausting but at least there was something she could do to help them. Taking soft steps around the pillars she got closer to Gandalf. She wanted to be closer so that if needed she could aid Gandalf without being noticed. Suddenly the king started to laugh, it sounded sick.

"You have no power here, Gandalf the Grey." The king said.

Ginny felt a surge of power and Gandalf's magical aura flared brightly and he threw off his grey cloak and the room filled with the white bright light of his magic. The king was thrown back into his throne.

"I will draw you, Saruman, as poison is drawn from a wound." Gandalf spoke.

"If I go, Théoden dies." The king growled. He was definitely completely under control of Saruman.

"You did not kill me, you will not kill him."

"Rohan is mine."

"Be gone." Gandalf ordered. Ginny felt the surge of magic shift. Gandalf took a step forward and just as the king make a move to attack him he threw his staff towards the king. To her it felt like a magical explosion. It shook her deeply as it reminded her off the final explosion between Harry and Voldemort but soon after the air lightened and the whole atmosphere became more breathable. Gandalf released the build up magic and the flows calmed. It relaxed her.

Suddenly the woman she had seen when they rode to Edoras ran towards the king and caught him just before he fell of his throne. Ginny feared the ordeal had killed the king. As Gandalf stepped back from the king he smiled relieved. She took it as a sign that it was safe for her to step away from the shadows. She moved a bit closer, so that she was almost standing next to Legolas but she kept herself under the notice-me-not spell just because off the snake that was still trapped underneath Gimli's heavy booths.

She watched as the king slowly changed into a much younger man. The gray fizzled hair turned into golden with a few grey strands. The wrinkled in his face disappeared and his glassy eyes turned sharp again. Real royal features returned as the king turned from a frail almost corpse to a strong man.

The woman that held him up was kneeling at his feet was crying with happiness, a big smile formed on her face.

"I know your face." The king said with a soft smile. "Éowyn? Éowyn." The woman smiled and nodded. Slowly the king got up and looked around his hall until he saw Gandalf. Ginny wondered if the king would be angry or happy to see the wizard. "Gandalf?"

"Breathe the free air again, my friend." Gandalf said with a soft smile, he took a few steps back, joining his companions. Ginny took a step to the side so she was partially hidden by the wizard.

The king was still trembling from his ordeal. Ginny felt sorry for the elder man. He was a muggle, nothing magical and to be possessed by a powerful wizard was more than a mere muggle could easily bare. She remembered her first year at Hogwarts, once the diary had been destroyed she had felt so weak for many days. Like all her energy had been drained. She was sure that the king felt very similar.

"Dark have been my dreams of late." Théoden whispered as he checked over his body.

"Your fingers would remember their old strength better if they grasped your sword." Gandalf said to the king. Next to them one of the guards that had them remove their weapons stepped up and held out a beautiful decorated sword. It was really a king's sword.

It seemed to work for the king. Once he pulled his sword he stood straighter. An air of royalty descended up on him. Like he drew strength from the metal of his sword. A small smile formed around the king's mouth.

Suddenly the king turned to look at Gimli, anger flashed in his eyes when he saw the snake still stuck under Gimli's heavy boots.

"You!" The king growled. "Out with you."

The guards didn't need to be told twice. Gimli stepped away and the guards picked up the man. The whole party followed them out. Ginny made it out just in time to see that they threw the man down the stairs. She waited behind Legolas, just glancing over his shoulder but making sure that the people below wouldn't see her.

"I've only ever served you, my lord." The snake claimed.

"Your leechcraft would have had me crawling on all fours like a beast!" Théoden shouted as he followed the man down the steps. Everybody followed him down. Ginny stayed close to Gimli and Legolas who remained on top of the stairs. The snake was clearly a spy for Saruman. She would have to make sure he didn't notice her presence.

"Send me not from your sight." The snake pleaded.

To Ginny it seemed that being send away was the least of the snake's worries. The king looked like he was out for blood. Théoden raised his sword to strike. Ginny hid her face in Legolas's back. It made him jump a bit but she had seen enough of death for a while. She didn't need to see this.

"No, my lord! No, my lord. Let him go. Enough blood has been spilt on his account." Aragorn called as he stopped the king's sword from killing the snake.

Ginny peaked around Legolas, to see what was happening. Aragorn held out his hand to the snake but the idiot he was he didn't except it and spit at Aragorn. It was disgusting, Ginny's blood boiled, how could he do that to a man that just saved his life. The greasy man was lucky that she was ordered to stay hidden or he would have bat bogeys to deal with big time.

After a bit of confusion the snake ran away and the guard shouted over the crowed that had gathered around the scene, "Hail, Théoden, King!" Around her everybody knelt down, even Aragorn, to not stand out she followed the example.

"Where is Théodred? Where is my son?" Théoden suddenly asked. He looked around in search for an answer. Next to Gandalf the beautiful woman named Éowyn sniffled, her eyes were haunted. Ginny was sure the king rather not know the answer.

"He died, my lord." Èowyn whispered. "Early this morning, there was nothing the healers could do for him."

The king looked like he was about to faint and one of the guards rushed to support him. Without a word the guard led the king back inside. The whole group silently followed them back into the hall.

"You can lift whatever spell you placed on yourself, my dear." Gandalf whispered. "It will be safe now."

Ginny did as he asked and lifted the charm. She noticed people suddenly looked at her but because she walked between Legolas and Gandalf nobody said anything. Once inside she pulled of her hood and revealed her bright red hair. Many people gasped, it made her blush slightly.

"It's alright, they will get used to it." Legolas muttered as he noticed her uneasiness. Ginny nodded unsure. She would have to wait and see if that would really happen.

"What happened?" The king asked Èowyn as he sat down.

"He was ambushed, they were Saruman's. His whole company got killed. Èomer and his Rohirrim found them. Only Théodred was alive but severely injured. He didn't make it." Èowyn cried softly. Théoden could only nodded at her. "Will you please prepare his body for a funeral?" He asked Èowyn.

"Yes, my lord." Èowyn whispered softly.

"But first make sure our guests get a chance to bath and fresh up before dinner." Théoden said as he looked at the five standing in the middle of the hall. His eyes rested on Ginny and widen a bit. Ginny knew that King realized that he hadn't seen her before. She bowed her head slightly to him.

"Of course, my lord." Èowyn nodded. When Èowyn got up Gandalf went to talk with the king, offering him words of comfort. "I'll show you to your sleeping quarters." Èowyn whispered when she stopped in front of them.

They followed the blond lady through the halls of the building. It was bigger than it seemed from the outside. Ginny did her best to remember the route they were taking. She wanted to know how to get to the front door incase it was needed.

"The men can have this sleeping hall. I'll make sure the maids bring you all water to wash up and if you want your clothes cleaned place them on the beds, the maids will launder them." Èowyn explained. She sounded like she had run this household for a long time already but she didn't seem much older than thirty. Ginny was impressed by Èowyn's sense of self and the confidence she carried. "Milady, for you the room across the hall is available. It's small and doesn't offer much comfort but it has a soft bed and privacy." Èowyn said when her eyes met Ginny's.

"It's alright. I don't need much." Ginny muttered. She followed Èowyn through the door. The woman hadn't been lying. It was very minimalistic. The bed in the corner was made of a dark wood and a sack stuffed with material pretended to be a mattress. Ginny knew she couldn't expect more from these people. She was very spoiled if it came to sleeping with the four-poster bed from Hogwarts. She sighed, it would do.

"I will ask the maids to bring you a bath and warm water so you can wash up. Do you have any other clothes with you?"

"No, just this." Ginny said. She looked down at herself. She had kept her clothes relatively clean but they were worn out and in need of replacement. But not now, it would have to be done later, she couldn't ask new things of these people. They had issues enough.

"I'll bring you a clean dress and one for tomorrow for you to wear with the funeral." Èowyn said.'

"Oh, no, you don't have to do that." Ginny protested. She pulled of her cloak and noticed Èowyn looking at the clothing she was wearing with shock. "I can't ask that of you besides I rather wear something like this."

Èowyn, glanced over her one more time, her eyes wide. Ginny wasn't sure in approval or disgust.

"All right, I see what I can get for you but please the King will be really displeased if you wore inappropriate clothes for the funeral."

"Alright. If it's not too much." Ginny agreed.

"Of course not." Èowyn said with a smile. "What is your name, milady?"

"Oh, how rude of me, I'm Ginevra, but it's Ginny for short."

"I'm Èowyn, the king's niece and shield maiden of Rohan."

"It's an honor." Ginny said with a smile.

"Where do you hail?" Èowyn asked suddenly. Ginny chuckled at her curiosity. Èowyn seemed like a really nice person, one that severely missed girl time. Ginny knew that deep down she could be and wanted be her friend but she wasn't sure how to answer. She understood that Èowyn was asking her where she came from but she couldn't tell the truth, the young woman would never understand.

"Fangorn forest and before that I spend time in the mountains." It wasn't a lie. Hogwarts is surrounded by mountains and after Hogwarts she had spend a few days in Fangorn.

"Fangorn?" Èowyn asked in surprise. "That forest is dangerous. My brother told me about strange creatures living there and that even the trees are dangerous."

Ginny shrugged and folded the cloak, she would give it back to Legolas later.

"It's wasn't that bad."

"Are you married to the man, the Ranger?" Èowyn asked after a minute of silence and Ginny whirled around to face her. "Oh, I'm sorry, it was rude of me to ask." Èowyn said with a blush.

"No, you just got me off guard. No I'm not involved with any of them. I'm a friend of Gandalf. I met Gandalf in the forest slightly unexpected. He was waiting for the others. Since then we are traveling together."

"Oh." Èowyn whispered. "Oh, alright. I'll leave you to it. The maids will bring you fresh clothes and a bath. Dinner will be served in two hours and I'm sure Théoden will want to meet his guests before that."

"Okay." Ginny nodded.

Èowyn left her in silence. Ginny looked around her. The room wasn't decorated. In the corner next to the window stood a chair that was draped in fabric. On the floor lay a hide of some sort of animal, probably a cow. Besides that the room was fairly bare. A real guest bedroom.

She sat down on the bed and sighed.

Being alone wasn't the best thing. Though she had felt alone, since the final battle she hadn't been alone. There had always been Gandalf or later the others who would keep her mind occupied.

Now she was alone with time to think. Nothing to distract her from her thoughts. Immediately they whirled back to the final battle. Thoughts that always seemed to get stuck on the haunted empty eyes of the death. With a stab she realized that tomorrow she had to face death in sort form again.

She would be attending a funeral. She would have to stand next to Gandalf as a friend to show her respects to the dead prince. She shivered as she thought about seeing a death face again. Maybe he would be in a coffin. Maybe… if it wasn't too much to hope for.

The thought of a funeral only brought back the memories of her dead family. She would never be able to bury them. Never would she be able to visit their graves or attend a memorial service in their name. Never ever could she say goodbye.

She couldn't go home. Merlin knows why or how she ended up in Middle Earth but she knew in heart she had wished for it and couldn't return to her own world. She wasn't even sure if she wanted too but she wished that she would have at least the chance to say goodbye to her family.

A knock on the door startled her from her thoughts.

"Come in." she called as she quickly wiped away her tears.

An older woman came in followed by two men carrying what seemed to be a bathtub and two others followed with large buckets of steaming water.

"The wizard has requested you to join him and the others after your bath to meet the king and to eat something, milady." The older woman said. Ginny nodded. "Lady Èowyn asked me to bring you fresh clothes. She requests that you wear this dress today when you meet the king, it would be more appropriate. The dark dress is for the funeral tomorrow. These are the clothes you requested, if they are too big we can alter them."

"Thank you, this is too much to ask anyway." Ginny said as she took the pile of clothing.

"The water is warm, milady, it might be a bit too warm."

"Thank you." Ginny said again. Once they left the room she went through the clothes. The two dresses were beautiful, the regular one was a light shade of brown and the one she was asked to wear for the funeral was black with a golden trim. The male clothes she was given needed some alterations to make it fit for a woman her size but nothing that magic couldn't solve. The breaches were dark blue, there was a white blouse and a dark blue with silver decorated tunic of a thick kind of fabric. Last on the stack of clothing were two sets of undergarments. To her surprise they were very feminine, she wondered if they had been Èowyn's.

She stripped down and tested the water. It was nice and warm, no magic needed. With a sigh she sank down into the warm water and let her body relax. Taking deep breaths she tried to calm down completely. The warmth felt so good on her body that she almost fell asleep.

Taking full advantage of the bath she used her magic to reheat the water again. She lay there just enjoying the small comfort that had been given to her. Once the water started to cool again she took a second to wash her hair and her body. Gandalf had healed most her her wounds but there were still a few cuts that hadn't healed completely. She took care to clean them properly and used her wand to heal them. After she was satisfied that she was clean and properly healed she got out and used a drying charm instead of the rough looking cloth they left behind for a towel.

To her surprise the dress fitted perfectly, it didn't need any alteration. She had thought they had been Èowyn's but the lady was a head taller than she so if it had been Èowyn's dress it wouldn't have fitted. _Maybe from another court lady_.

She dried her hair with her wand and braided it so her red hair wouldn't be as noticed. Once she was ready she left her room and returned to the Golden Hall.


	11. The Golden Hall

**AN: I am sorry that I don't update as often as I like and as my readers like... I'll try to do better but writing is costing too much time right now and I'm trying to get my main story done but even that is failing.**

**I hope you all like this... I had a hard time getting it right... please review!**

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**11. Meeting**

After he had washed and changed into a fresh set of clothes, Legolas left the room to the dwarf and man. While they were taking their time to enjoy the warm bath and redress Legolas felt restless and decided to go to see Gandalf. He wanted to talk to him about Ginevra and her training with the sword and bow.

Once in the hallway he stopped for a second at Ginevra's door. He wanted to make sure she was all right. Ever since she had left them with Èowyn, the young Istar had been on his mind. He worried about her, about how she was dealing with more dead people. He worried that time alone wasn't the best thing for her now.

He was about to knock on the door when he heard water plashing he realized she was taking a bath. Slightly embarrassed he walked on. To his embarrassment he could imagine the young Istar in a bath. It would be a sight to behold. He hadn't been oblivious to her beauty. Though she probably wouldn't see it herself, Ginevra was utterly beautiful. Even by elf standards.

Her body was well shaped. Curves in the right places but strong anyway. She kin was light and sprinkled with soft freckles that only highlighted her perfection. Her deep brown eyes and full lips made him feel slightly lightheaded.

After three steps from her door he reprimanded himself. It would do him no good to lust after a human, not even one of the Istari. Only heartbreak came from it. One day too soon she would grow old and die, leaving him behind.

It had been a long time since he had thought of a woman that way. It shook him a bit but before he could even start to dissect the meaning of it all he entered the Golden Hall.

"Ah, Legolas." Gandalf said as he walked into the hall. "Let me introduce you to the king."

Legolas nodded and walked forward. He was thankful for the many years of court training his father had given him because his head was still filled with a certain red head. He took a deep breath and focused on the task at hand.

"Théoden this is Prince Legolas, son of Thranduil of the woodland realm. Or Mirkwood as it's known these days."

"Welcome to Edoras, Prince Legolas." Théoden greeted him.

"Thank you, my lord. My condolences for the loss of your son."

"Thank you." Théoden said with a sad smile. "Where are the others?"

"Aragorn and Gimli will be here in a minute. They were taking some time washing up and redressing in clean clothes. Our journey has been a hard and long one." Legolas answered.

"And the lady?"

"Lady Èowyn gave her a room to her own for some privacy." Legolas said.

"I'm sure she will be here soon." Gandalf said to the king.

"Good, it will be a nice distraction to hear all your stories and news." The king mused.

Aragorn and Gimli arrived shortly and got a royal welcome. Legolas tried to pay attention to the conversations but he started to worry about their young female companion. She was taking a lot of time. He worried that maybe she had fallen back into her sadness.

He was about to go to her and see how she was doing when a red headed young lady dressed in a brown with golden dress fit for an elf princess walked around the corner. His jaw almost dropped when he realized who it was.

§§§

Ginny felt nervous entering the hall. She had been pacing back and forth for five minutes before working up the courage to enter. She had never been nervous about meeting new people but this was a king. A man who had lost recently as well. Perhaps he would see through her and started to ask strange questions.

After an additional three minutes of pacing she got angry with herself and ordered her inner Gryffindor to return. These were just men, nothing more or less. With a flick of her wrist she could deal with them. There was no need to feel nervous at al. Straightening her back and taking a deep breath she stepped into the unknown. At least Gandalf would be there.

As she walk in she felt very aware of the dress and how it hugged her curves. The golden belt that went with the dress did nothing to conceal curves, it only accentuated. When she entered every eye turned to her, maid, servants, men, elf, dwarf and wizard. They all looked at her in shock and awe. She sure wasn't used to this kind of attention and for a second she prayed to the earth to swallow her. To her relieve Gandalf recovered quickly and walked to her.

"Come, my dear. I know you are not that shy." He whispered to her with a wink.

"Every eye is on me, of course that makes me shy." She muttered. Gandalf chuckled and took her towards Théoden.

"Théoden, this is Lady Ginevra. She is one of the Istari."

"It's an honor to meet you, my lady." The king nodded.

"The honor is all mine, my lord." Ginny said with a slight bow. "Thank you and Lady Èowyn for the clothes and the warm bath."

"It's nothing, milady. We take care of our guests." Théoden said with a fatherly smile. His eyes roamed over her form but his eyes weren't lightened with lust but with curiosity. "It's hard to believe that the immense power of the Istari houses in such a small frame." He commented in awe. It wasn't degrading or insulting just pure wonder.

Next to her Gandalf chuckled.

"She has more power ready in her little finger than I have in my whole body, Théoden king." Gandalf said with a chuckle. "Don't let the female disguise fool you."

"Oh, I won't. I'm just curious to see what she can do. I'm hoping I'll get a chance."

"I can demonstrate a few things at a more convenient time, my lord." Ginny answered calmly.

"That would be nice, Lady Ginevra." Théoden nodded before he returned to his conversation with Aragorn and Gandalf. Ginny took it that she was dismissed and sat down next to Gimli at the table.

"That dress sure makes you look different, lass." Gimli commented.

"Thanks, I'm just not used to dresses. Back home women don't usually dress in floor length dresses. We are much more used to women wearing pants and shirts. Èowyn was so friendly to get me some proper clothes as well."

"That would be a shame, Ginevra." Legolas commented.

"No, it would be a shame to ruin this." She disagreed. "I really can't function in this without ruining it."

A short while later dinner was served. Ginny was surprised by the amount of food. From what she had seen the people here didn't have much. Even in this royal housing everything was very minimal, everything but the food and the clothing.

Seeing her surprise Legolas explained to her that this food came from the royal pantry. During Saruman's control over Théoden it had been used only for his and the people in the town were completely cut off from food by Saruman. He told her that Théoden had ordered his men to start handing out food tonight to the town's people.

"Eat, lass. You never know when you get an other chance." Gimli said as he held out a plate with what looked like beef.

"Thanks." She muttered and took the plate. She still didn't care much for food. She still felt depressed and an overwhelming sadness sat in her stomach but she reminded herself of her promise to Harry. He would kick her ass if she died now. So she decided to give eating a try, the food did smell really good after all.

"What are the King, Aragorn and Gandalf discussing?" She asked Legolas as he sat down next to her to eat something.

"Just sharing news. It's probably a long time since Rohan received news from other countries."

Ginny glanced over her shoulder, all three men looked serious and a bit down.

"I take it that it isn't good news." She murmured.

"No, besides the bad news about Sauron, and Saruman, the loss of his only son and heir, the king has to deal with a war that is coming. Uruk-hai and wildmen are roaming freely and unchecked through Rohan destroying their food supply and killing it's people. The poor man has a lot to deal with at the moment." Gimli said.

"The loss of his son and only heir is hitting him hard." Legolas nodded.

"What about Lady Èowyn? Can't women rule a country here?" Ginny asked as she watched Èowyn helping some court lady.

Both men looked up at her in shock.

"What women are just as capable of ruling a country as men, maybe even better."

"No." Gimli shook his head. "In dwarf society women don't rule. Though the wife of the king has always some sort of influence. Most women are content with taking care of a household and kids. The ones that are ambitious usually don't choose for a leading role in society but in the arts of jewel making."

"With elves it's a bit different. My mother did control some things and was always present in important meetings. My father respected her opinion greatly. My sisters can make decisions in my father's absence. Their rule has to be followed but the rule is that the army has to be commanded by a man. This is because the world of humans and orcs don't take women all that seriously. They don't see them fit to rule so it's easier to have a king." Legolas explained. "Théoden isn't like that. He would agree to let lady Èowyn rule after him but lady Èowyn isn't inline for the thrown, she is the King's niece. She has an older brother, Lord Èomer, who would be next in line for the throne were Théoden to die."

Ginny nodded, she felt a bit bristled that the race of men here was so degrading to women but she knew this world seemed a bit stuck in the middle ages and on earth in the middle ages women were very unrecognized also. It shouldn't be a surprise if it was slightly the same in this world. It comforted her a bit that at least here she was in the company of people that were not like that.

Later the king, Aragorn and Gandalf joined them at the table. A lot of stories were told and Ginny listened closely. From what Théoden told she understood that he loved his country and his people dearly but that he had a hard time to protect them all from the evil forces. She felt for him as he spoke about the regular Orc and wildmen attacks and how he felt like he was failing his people.

Aragorn comforted the king with wise words and the promise to see if he could be of any help. It became clear to Ginny that Aragorn was well respected by the king. Théoden listened to Aragorn ideas and nodded in a agreement quite a few times.

All men told stories, Aragorn about the happenings with the Rivendell elves and the big folk that lived to the wild. Gimli told them about Moria, what happened there and about how the dwarves found it hard to deal with the darkness. Legolas told horrid stories about large spiders that had invaded his country and about a creature named Gollum. Legolas's lament about how his people were driven into hiding from the dark creatures that haunted their homeland made her feel really sad for the elf.

While the men spoke she learned a lot about Middle Earth, about the countries and about the up coming war. She started to understand why four such a different men were fighting together in it. Gandalf because of his love for this earth and its people, Gimli because he felt that his proud race should fight for their existence, be a part of it. Legolas because he wanted to restore the life and future of his home country and Aragorn because he felt that the fact that the ring still existed was his personal failure. He wanted to set things right and redeem something that didn't needed to be redeemed or at least wasn't his to redeem.

Ginny wondered if she would fight along with them? She just got out of a war that left her the only surviving member of her family; she didn't want another war. Yet, here she found herself surrounded by men, new friends, who were linked to the out come of the war in one way or another.

And if she fought with them, for what should she fight? Back home she fought for her freedom and survival, for her family and for her love but what about here? Would she fight for her survival? Did she even want to survive? She had wanted to survive back home, she had wanted her future with Harry but now she realized that surviving a war when others perished was just another results of the same curse.

She had nothing here. No family. Not yet really good friends. She could go with the men to battle and just let herself be killed and join her family and Harry. Harry would be so angry with her. Even with all the pain and horrors he went through he had always wanted to live. He was driven to live. But wouldn't he understand that it hurt just to be alive right now? How lost and alone she felt.

She had a difficult choice to make. Looking at the reality of her situation she concluded a few things. One, she was very much alive and she knew in her heart that she wanted to survive. Two, that she wouldn't be able to survive and regain a bit of happiness in a world covered with darkness, so the good side needed to win the war. And three, there was no way she would stand aside while other died for what was now her world too.

She had nothing left, nothing to loose and only to gain. She had already started with three maybe four new friends. Maybe she could fight for something new to build. Even if that new future was unknown and slightly scary.

"I'm going to retire for the night." The king said, pulling her out her thoughts. "You are welcome to eat and drink some more but please, my friends, be there tomorrow morning."

"We will." Aragorn said to the king and the others nodded.

Gandalf and Aragorn followed the king out. Ginny decided to try and have some sleep as well. She said goodnight to the others and walked to her room. She did notice some ladies watching her, gossiping about her. She wondered if it was just because she was different or if it was because she was a friend of Gandalf. _Or maybe because I'm the only woman with four men_, she thought idly.

In her room she spend a good hour altering the clothes they had given her so they would fit properly. Once she was happy with the way they hang loosely around her body she folded them and placed them on the chair. After the funeral she would wear those and ask Aragorn for some sword training.

With a bit of magic the bed was made more comfortable and warm but after two hours of tossing and turning Ginny found she couldn't sleep. She was nervous for the funeral. She was afraid her own demons would be too strong and that she would break down.

The more she thought about the funeral the queasier she began to feel about it all.

Sweat broke out and the pain grew. The realization that she would never have the chance to say goodbye to Harry and her family hurt like hell. Not even Umbridge's quill or the torture she had to endure from the Carrow's hurt that much. It was ripping her heart further apart. She cried uncontrollably for hours, her breathing broken in hick ups.

After a long time she started to feel angry. Angry with herself, her family, Harry, Voldemort and the rest of the world she threw of the blankets and got up. She needed some fresh air. Maybe the strong wind would take away the mess in her head.

She grabbed the cloak that was still waiting to be given back to its owner. With a quick step she headed to a door that would let her out to the back of the Golden Hall. She needed to get out. With the anger in her, her magic felt wild and ready to explode in a burst of aggression. She didn't want to cause fires or injury with her uncontrollable force.

Outside the wind was blowing hard and it was cold. She looked out over the lands. It was bathing in the light of a bright moon. It was stunning but she couldn't feel the appreciation. All that she felt was the anger and sadness. Anger at her family and Harry for dying on her. Anger at Voldemort for being such an idiot and angry about her situation.

Had it been too much to ask to die too? Who thought it to be funny to torture her even more and dump her completely alone in an unknown world that was at the brink of war? She felt it was completely unfair. She should have been with Harry. She should have been with her family right now. Yet, here she was, on a windy cold balcony very much alive and alone.

She tried to take deep breaths and relax. How could she keep her promise to Harry when just breathing hurt so much?

She sank down against the back wall and fought for control over her emotions and tears. Being connected with the solid wall behind her calmed her a bit. It was something real, something to hold on to. Sometimes everything seemed like an insane nightmare, the wall for now was the only hold on reality she had. The longer she sat there the calmer she got. The fresh air made her head clearer and her breathing easier.

After a while she felt somebody next to her. When she looked up she saw Legolas standing next to her. He wasn't looking at her but out over the fields.

"Hey." She whispered. "I didn't mean to wake you."

"I wasn't sleeping." Legolas said as he looked down at her. "Elves don't need as much sleep as humans."

Ginny nodded and looked away again. She felt him move and sat down next to her.

"I heard you, I wondered if you needed somebody." He whispered.

Ginny shook her head; "I don't want to bother you with my pain. You have worries enough already."

"It's always better to share, Ginevra." Legolas said calmly. She looked up at him. He looked so normal sitting there next to her, besides his unreal beauty and pointy ears, that is. She felt connected to him. She couldn't understand why but it felt like the connection of trust she had with Harry. She just trusted the tall elf.

Deciding that he was probably right, keeping the pain in will only cause more trouble. Accidental magic was just around the corner when you didn't control your emotions. She gave in with a sigh.

"I'm afraid." She whispered.

"For what?"

"For tomorrow, the funeral."

Legolas nodded. He seemed to move to take her hand but he didn't, instead he turned his body so he could face her properly.

"You don't have to be afraid, death is something we all have to face at one point in our lives. Even for us elves it seems an unavoidable thing. Friends die and even though we are meant to be around forever, some of us die or leave these lands. Attending ceremonies to remember and honor them is a part of it."

"It's not the funeral itself I fear. It's more that I'm afraid I'll break into pieces. I never got the chance…" She admitted. If it was even possible his face turned even softer, more understanding.

"If you want to I'll stand next to you. I'll support you if you need it." He said in a whisper.

"That's very sweet of you to offer." Ginny whispered. She pulled her eyes away from his. The intensity of his eyes was too much to handle. It felt like he was trying to look into her soul and see the horrors for himself.

"I would be honored if you consider taking it."

Ginny didn't know how to react to his comment. She gave him a small smile and looked out over the fields again. Legolas was right she did feel a little better now she spoke out her fear. Even if it was just a little part of her constant fear and pain.

Deep within her heart there were bigger and darker things. Things she really didn't want to visit because she feared them more than death. The second blood war had left scars, cuts and wounds so deep that she wasn't sure that they would ever heal. For now, she had decided to push them away and focus on the now. Trying to keep her promise to Harry.

Next to her the elf seemed comfortable with just sitting there in silence. She looked at him for a few seconds. His eyes scanned the fields around Edoras. It seemed to her that he was looking for something, waiting for something to happen.

"What will happen after the funeral of the King's son?" She asked him, wondering if he was waiting for enemies or something.

"I do not know yet." He said softly. "Gandalf expects war to come to Rohan."

"Yes, I know."

"The king will have to decide the best course for Rohan. He will look to Gandalf and perhaps Aragorn for guidance but battle seems unavoidable."

"I was afraid of that." Ginny sighed. She resigned herself to another war. If she wanted it or not, she was going to be a part of it. Would she die and join Harry again or would she live and try to make something of her life? Either way, war was coming.

Legolas, turned to look at her. He looked a bit surprised.

"Nobody expects you to fight." He said softly.

"I know but I don't think I have a choice." She said as she shook her head.

"Everybody has a choice." He argued.

"Really? Do I really have a choice? Please tell me, what choice do I have." Ginny snapped. The phrase she had heard many times and it was just so untrue that she had started to hate it. Nobody had a choice. The only choice was that between darkness and light, between pain and happiness. Harry, never had a choice, he was doomed to fight. Her family never really had a choice. They would have been murdered if they hadn't fought. When Legolas didn't reply she sighed and shook her head. "I don't have a choice Legolas. I landed in a world on the brink of war. A place where no matter what happens a war need to be fought before I get a chance at peace. I don't know much about this world, I don't know much about the enemies or the darkness that is in this world and I don't know what will hunt me here but if it's anything similar like what hunted me back home… I won't have the option of turning away. It will be choosing between what is right and what is easy and for me it will always be choosing 'right' or I will never have peace."

"Why not?" He asked.

"My powers." She shrugged. "Peace will only come with death or with the defeat of everything dark." She spoke the truth. She knew deep down that she would find peace, either at the hand of death or in some strange life she could live here. That feeling gave her hope. "I'm going back to bed. Thank you for listening, Legolas."

"You are welcome, milady."


	12. The funeral

**I hadn't been planning on updating so quickly again but I got a bit of editing time this weekend and decided on using it for chapters that I have almost finished. Luckily this one was mostly finished. I hope you'll like the bonding time I am giving Ginny with the men.**

**I want to thank those who have reviewed. I'm happy there are quite a few people who are enjoying this story. Also to answer a few questions. My idea is that this will be a Legolas/Ginny romance but not any time soon. I want to give Ginny the chance to get over Harry and I want to give you all insight into Legolas falling in love with a mortal woman...however you'll get to see small snippets of how their love grows... while I love them it won't be a smut story...**

**please review this chapter!**

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**12. The Funeral**.

Legolas watched the young witch walking back into the Hall. He felt very confused by her. He could understand her fear about attending a funeral and her sadness about not being able to say goodbye to her loved ones. He could even understand her feelings about what happened back where she coma from but the way she just resigned to a future with war, battle, pain and horror. It was beyond him. How could she be so, blasé about it all?

War never scared him. He was never afraid to meet his enemy head on and deal with them when needed, it made him a good warrior. He was however very aware of the horrific things that happened during the war, the lives that were taken, the women were raped, the children that were being used as slaves and the men that were tortured. Those images would haunt him for eternity. Yet, this young woman, no more than seventeen summers old, just shrugged when she was faced with the horrors of a war.

He didn't want to push her for answers, Gandalf had advised against it and Legolas was sure that if pushed too hard Ginevra could do some serious harm to her or him but it left him unsatisfied and confused. Besides it didn't help that he was naturally a curious creature and this woman was a puzzle to solve. A very beautiful and sensual puzzle.

He growled at himself and shook his head. He didn't want to think about her in that way. Even if he could explore those thoughts and feeling, she had just lost somebody she loved like that. He knew she would not be ready for exploring those feelings for a long time.

Taking a calming breath he decided to stay outside, the clear crisp air helped him clear his mind.

Ginny entered the Golden Hall really early next morning. She was wearing the dark dress Èowyn had given her. Her hair was pulled up in an elegant braid, fastened with a few pins on the back of her head. She looked, according to herself, very presentable.

To her surprised the dining table in the Hall was empty. She had expected at least Gimli and Legolas or some of the king's men to be there but there was no one around. It was silent.

She was about to move towards the table for a light breakfast when she heard a soft sniffling. Looking in the direction of the sound she saw the king sitting on his throne. He was dressed in dark clothes and with the early morning light it was very easy to overlook him as his throne sat in the shade. He was alone and one of his hands covered his face.

Ginny swallowed as she realized that he was crying. She felt very uncomfortable, she knew men didn't want to be seen crying, especially not by women but the king looked so lonely that she felt for him. She couldn't turn away and leave him to his grief.

Soundlessly she walked towards him and knelt down in front of him. She took his free hand into hers and swallowed again. The hurt she felt from loosing her own family surged through her as she realized the amount of pain this man was in. It constricted her chest for a second. She opened her mouth to say something to the crying man but what could she say to him if she couldn't even describe her own pain and loss.

Somewhere in the back of her head she heard Legolas's voice talking to her, '_You need to talk about it at some point_'…

She gripped the king's hand tighter and only than did he looked up at her. His eye widened in surprise as he realized it wasn't Èowyn who was there to comfort him. Ginny managed to smile softly at him.

"I'm sorry, my lord, for your loss." She whispered and the king nodded slightly and closed his eyes again. To her relieve he didn't pull away or got angry with her. He wasn't ashamed of showing his grief to her. It made her feel a lot better about the situation.

Ginny took a deep breath and continued. "Very recently I lost everything I loved. My parents, my brothers, my friends, my best friend and my boyfriend. It hurts like crazy. Sometimes it's too much and I can't even breathe. Yet, I can't imagine how much it must hurt to loose a child. You must be in such a constricting pain. I can't help you with it. They can't even help me. I can only offer a hug, a hand or an ear for you to talk too if you want it, my lord."

The king looked at her for a long time. So long that she started to fear she had insulted him but suddenly he pulled her into a hug. After the initial surprise she wrapped her arms around him and hugged him back. Strangely it was healing her as well to have somebody to hug and share her grief with. It was a fatherly hug she had needed so much.

They sat like that for a minute or so until the king released her. He gave her a watery smile.

"Thank you, milady. Nobody has ever offered me that." He whispered.

"Sometimes everybody needs a shoulder to cry on." Ginny said softly as she grabbed his hands. "You can use mine when you need it."

"Thank you." King Théoden said with a soft smile. "It must be hard, losing everything, I mean."

Ginny shuddered from the pain as it made its appearance once more but she gritted her teeth and swallowed it away.

"It is, my lord. I don't even know how to deal with it yet."

"Neither do I." He sighed.

Their conversation was interrupted by the loud arrival of Gimli and just a few seconds later by the rest of the group. Everybody seemed surprised to see her on her knees in front of the king but they didn't ask. Though, Ginny was sure she saw in Legolas eyes that he knew what she had been doing. In conformation he gave her a soft smile.

Breakfast was a silent affair. Legolas explained to Ginny what would happen during the funeral so that she was prepared for anything. They talked softly as Aragorn and Gandalf spoke with the king. They were offering kind words and advise but every now and then Ginny saw the king's eyes flickering to her. She knew that they couldn't relieve the king from his pain. Only death or time could.

Later that morning everything was made ready for the funeral. As promised Legolas, was by her side as they walked out of the city in a procession. Her arm linked in his for support. Aragorn walked on her other side. He was softly murmuring some song. Somehow it sounded fitting for the procession.

Six strong men carried the body of the king's son to the burial place.

With each step Ginny felt her strength leaving her. Legolas's grip on her arm tightened.

By the time they reached the burial mount she was shaking with emotions. It wasn't hard to imagine somebody else being carried by those men. Especially since Thèodred's hair was raven as well. In her head flashes came of how it could have been Harry's funeral. He would sure have had a kingly funeral back home.

By now her family, Hermione and Harry would have been buried. She was in this world for five days already. Surely back home arrangements would have been made. _By somebody from the bloody ministry probably_, She thought sneeringly. Or maybe McGonagall had arranged a memorial for them. She hadn't been there. She hadn't been there to say goodbye.

She could imagine being there. A ministry arranged, grand, hero's funeral and hating every moment of it. She would have been there alone. No Hermione to cry with. No Luna to tell her some silly story that would make everything a bit easier. She would be like this. Alone with nobody who would understand the pain she was going through.

She kept her head high and her breathing slow but she was shaking so hard that it was difficult to move at all. She was thankful for Legolas. At least he made sure she wouldn't stumble and fall.

After they stopped in front of the tomb she was sure she would fall on her knees and wail when she felt a strong arm around her other arm. She looked up at the person that was giving her this comfort and was surprised that it was Aragorn. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders to further support her together with Legolas. He squeezed her shoulder softly and she gave into his comfort. It felt good to rely on somebody else for once.

Legolas stepped closer to her and lowered his arm to grab her hand. Though it was a more intimate gesture than holding on to his arm but she didn't care. His hand brought comfort. Even more than she liked to admit.

She leaned against Aragorn as she watched the men lowered Théodred into the tomb. Suddenly Èowyn started to sing. The language was unknown to her but Ginny was so touched by the emotions that flowed from the woman's words that she left out a soft whimper. She couldn't stop her tears any more.

The men stepped back from the tomb and as Èowyn stopped singing the heavy stone door fell shut. A loud thumb echoed through the air and silence fell around them. Only the soft crying of a few women could be heard.

After a few minutes the people around them left and Ginny realized it was over. During the last ten minutes she had buried them all, Bill, Fleur, Harry, Hermione, Ron, the twins, Charlie, Luna, Neville, and her parent but she would never be able to really say goodbye to them. Still it was over… she let out a sigh and shuddered as the tension left her.

"Come." Aragorn whispered in her ear. Too weak from her own grief Ginny didn't protest and let Aragorn steer her back to the Golden Hall. She glanced over her shoulder to Legolas. She had felt his eyes on her the whole time. They still were, he looked worried but she managed to give him a small watery smile, which he answered.

Aragorn led her away from the official gathering in the Hall and to her bedroom. Gimli and Legolas made to follow them but somebody held them up. He placed her on her bed and sat down next to her.

"Do you want to talk about it?" He asked softly. She shook her head.

"Can't… not yet." Her voice sounded thick with tears.

The door opened again and Gimli and Legolas walked in. Both were looking very worried at her. Legolas stepped in two long strides towards her and knelt down in front of her.

"Are you alright?" He asked softly.

"I will be." She whispered. "It was just too much too soon. I just kept seeing them on that bed."

"Is there anything we can do?" Aragorn asked her.

She let out a watery chuckle. It was so strange, here she was sitting in a medieval bedroom with three strange men around her and they were all offering her comfort. She used to be the strong one.

"No…I don't think you can." She said placing her free hand over Aragorn's rough hands. "but thank you for offering."

"I know something that might help." Gimli spoke up. The all looked at him in surprise. "Why don't we go do something fun until Gandalf and the king return from their little ceremony."

"Like what? I think it's highly inappropriate to do something fun right now." Aragorn said.

"The young lady wanted to learn about sword fighting and archery. Why don't we start with that? I think it will help her to deal with the anger and it will take her mind of things for a while." Gimli looked directly at her. He understood her feelings better than she had expected. There was a massive amount of anger in her. Anger at the fact that she was abandoned, anger at the loss of her whole family, anger at everybody for not winning the war without so much loss.

"I think that is a good idea." Ginny nodded at Gimli with a grateful smile.

The others gave in and after she had changed into the breeches and tunic that Èowyn had given her, the group left for a small area to the side of the main square where other knights were training. Aragorn greeted some of the men and led them to the armory.

"Let's see if we can find you a sword to train with." He said as he stepped in. Ginny stopped just outside and waited with Legolas and Gimli for Aragorn to return. "Here try this, it isn't sharp, so you don't have to be afraid of hurting anyone."

Ginny took the short sword in her hand. She glanced at the sword Aragorn was holding, it was much longer than the one he had given her.

"The length of the sword depends on the length and the strength of the one who is wielding it. You can't really wield a long sword like this." He explained as he saw her look at the both swords. Ginny nodded, it made sense.

She grabbed the hilt is the sword firmly in one hand. It was heavy. Aragorn stepped towards her and showed her how to hold the sword properly. "Grab it like this with both hands. For now it will be easier for you to hold it with both hands. Once you have built up arm and wrist muscles enough to hold more firmly you can try to wield it single handedly."

Ginny nodded and copied the placement of his hands.

"Good. Now just follow my moves."

Aragorn showed her different moves to defend herself from an attack and how to go from a defensive move to an offensive move. For half an hour they danced around. Aragorn was a good and patient teacher.

Every now and then Legolas would give some advise or show her how he worked certain moves differently from Aragorn. He only did this when he thought it suited her light figure better. Gimli was shouting encouragements from the sideline.

"You learn quickly, Lady Ginevra." Aragorn commented as she quickly changed from defending herself to attacking him.

She was about to thank him when there was some commotion at the gate.

"Ginevra!" Somebody called her. She recognized Gandalf's voice and it sounded like he needed help. Quickly she handed her sword to Aragorn and ran towards Gandalf. To her utter surprise he was carrying a young boy who looked unconscious.

"Here take him please." Gandalf said as he held out his arms. Ginny took the small boy from his arms and looked down at him. He looked dirty and malnourished. A bruise above his eyes made her think he had fallen hard in his head.

"What happened to him?" She asked.

"He fell of a large horse." Gandalf said as he turned around. King Théoden was walking towards them, a small girl at his side and a horse following them.

"Please take them to Èowyn, look after them." Théoden asked her as he pushed the little girl toward her. Ginny was slightly annoyed that they asked her to do it. Legolas, Aragorn and Gimli would have been able to take care of them as well. It was just because she was a woman that they asked her but the children looked in such a bad shape that she didn't object. Though, the king saw her annoyance.

"I'll bring the horse to the stable and meet you in the Golden Hall so we can hear the story of the children." He said kindly. She nodded and smiled at the king. He meant well, these men just didn't know better. She would teach them.

"Come darling, lets get you cleaned up and fed." She said to the girl.

"But what about Éothain, he needs help!" the little girl protested as she looked at the king.

"This woman will help your brother." He said calmly. The girl seemed reassured and walked over to Ginny.

She heaved the boy higher up on her hip so that she could carry him better. Suddenly Legolas stepped towards her and held out his hands.

"I'll carry him, if you want me to."

She hated to admit but the boy was heavy and they would be quicker if he did carry him.

"Please." She nodded and handed the boy over. She grabbed the girl's hand and took her up the steps to the Golden Hall. On the top of the stairs Èowyn was waiting for them, holding the door open so they could enter easily.

"Come in, quickly. Lets get them warm and fed." She said as she stepped aside for them.

Èowyn took the small girl from Ginny so that she could see what she could do for the boy. He was still unconscious in Legolas's arms. She checked for his pulse first, to her relieve it was strong but a bit unregularly. She noticed his skin was dry and very inflexible for his age.

She turned to the girl who was huddling by the fire.

"Was he injured?" She asked.

"No, mama told to him to ride to Edoras. We were away before the wild men attacked."

"When was the last time you had something to eat? Or drink?"

"At least two moons." The girl answered sadly. "Is Éothain dead?" Tears started to form in her eyes as she watched the limp boy in Legolas's arms. Ginny took a quick step towards her and kneeled in front of her.

"What's your name?"

"Freda, milady." She mumbled.

"Freda, no, Èothain isn't dead. He'll wake up in a few seconds, I promise. While I work on his you should drink something."

"Are you a healer?" the girl asked boldly.

"Something like that." Ginny said with a smile and got up. Èowyn was already handing the girl a goblet of water. Ginny nodded to the woman and smiled friendly.

She walked towards Legolas and motioned him to sit down with the boy. She pulled out her wand and performed a healing spell on the large bump on his head. When the boy didn't wake up immediately she tried a different approach.

"Rennervate." She whispered. The boy snapped his eyes open and jolted up. He gasped in shock as he looked around him.

"Éothain!" the girls shouted and ran towards them. "You are awake!"

Ginny looked up at a shocked elf. She smiled at him and got up.

"Useful huh?" She asked him.

"Very." He said with an awed smile.

The children hugged each other. The boy looked quite fearful around him while his sister held him.

"It's alright, we are not going to hurt you." Ginny told him. "Why don't we get you something to eat and drink? You can tell us what happened while you eat and warm up."

The kids had just finished their story to her and Èowyn when the others entered the Hall. Èowyn immediately started to tell the terrible story of the children to the men. To Ginny it was clear that the young woman was very passionate about her country. She felt her respect for the Shield Maiden grow. This was a really strong woman, one fit to rule.

"They had no warning. They were unarmed. Now the Wild Men are moving through the Westfold, burning as they go!" The Shield maiden almost yelled. She sighed and shook her head. "Rick, cot and tree."

The children weren't oblivious to the conversation between the grown ups. They knew something was up.

"Where's mama?" The girl asked. She looked so scared as the adults talked about war. Èowyn comforted her a bit and ordered her to eat. Ginny watched as the men all looked worried. She was worried, what evil would attack just for fun… besides Death Eaters that is…

"This is but a taste of the terror that Saruman will unleash. All the more potent for he is driven now by fear of Sauron. Ride out and meet him head on." Gandalf advised the king. "Draw him away from your women and children. You must fight."

Ginny could see the king wasn't agreeing with the wizard. Though Gandalf's idea was a good one, Ginny could see it lacked certain things. Like, the assurance that the city with the women and children would be safe. Also they lacked information, one should never attack an unknown enemy. They needed to know what they were up against first. She knew Théoden was thinking the same.

"You have 2000 good men riding north as we speak. Éomer is loyal to you. His men will return and fight for their king." Aragorn commented. It was clear he was agreeing with Gandalf's idea.

Aragorn would fight for freedom. Meet dangers head on. According to Ginny, he truly would fit in Gryffindor. Just like Sirius had. Théoden got up and walked towards the group that were sitting at the table. He looked tired, sad and slightly angry.

"They will be 300 leagues from here by now. Éomer cannot help us." He argued. Gandalf made to speak once more but Théoden held up his hand, "I know what it is that you want of me, but I will not bring further death to my people. I will not risk open war."

"Open war is upon you, whether you would risk it or not." Aragorn argued. Ginny closed her eyes and shook her head. It was a difference in opinions, they would never agree on the subject.

"When last I looked, Théoden, not Aragorn, was king of Rohan." Théoden said heatedly. Aragorn looked sad and shocked at this comment but didn't argue any further.

"Then what is the king's decision?" Gandalf asked with a sigh.

"We shall head for the fortress of Helm's Deep. The women and children will be save there. We can defend it. Háma! Send out word for all of Rohan to come to the fortress." The king ordered.

Gandalf sighed and shook his head. Ginny saw some anger in his eyes but it was only a flash of it.

"You'll need all the help you can get there, Théoden king. I'll go and find Éomer and his men." Gandalf spoke curtly. Without waiting for a reply he nodded towards the king and left the hall, the others followed and Ginny had to run to keep up.

The wizard was indeed angry. His long and urgent strides made her worry.

"What's wrong with the king's decision?" She asked softly.

"Helm's Deep. They flee to the mountains when they should stand and fight." Gimli told her. He sounded annoyed with the king as well and he didn't make much sense.

As they entered the stables Gimli spoke up again.

"Who will defend them if not their king?"

"He's only doing what he thinks is best for his people. Helm's Deep has saved them in the past." Aragorn said calmly.

"There is no way out of that ravine. Théoden is walking into a trap. He thinks he's leading them to safety. What they will get is a massacre." Gandalf said angrily as he opened Shadowfax's stable. "Théoden has a strong will, but I fear for him. I fear for the survival of Rohan. He will need you before the end, Aragorn. The people of Rohan will need you. The defenses have to hold."

"They will hold." Aragorn promised. Gandalf looked at Ginny, his expression pained.

"I know, Gandalf, I know." She said before the wizard could start to apologies to her. "I don't have a choice."

"I'm afraid not, dear." He whispered to her. "Keep yourself safe. No business with letting yourself being killed. I want to talk to you again." He said sternly.

"I'll try." She said with a smile. Gandalf nodded at her and turned to the horse.

"The Grey Pilgrim. That's what they used to call me. Three hundred lives of Men I've walked this earth, and now I have no time." Gandalf sighed and heaved himself up on the horse. "With luck, my search will not be in vain. Look to my coming at first light on the fifth day. At dawn, look to the east."

Aragorn nodded and threw the door of the stable open.

"Go." He said to the wizard. They watched him race out of the stables, people jumping aside to avoid being knocked over. Ginny ran out of the stables to watch her friend race away from the city.

"You'll see him again soon."

She turned to see Legolas standing next to her, also watching over the plains at the white wizard.

"Will he find them?"

"I don't know. Rohan is a large country but we have met Éomer recently so he has a clear idea of where to look."

Ginny nodded and watched until the wizard was no longer visible. She sighed and let her shoulders fall.

"Well, we better get moving." She said. "I guess we will be riding with the king."

"Yes, we better get packed."


End file.
